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iMOIR and PERSONAL 

Recollection 
<yf J. B. Corey 







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.1. B. COREY. 
Age, 8 2 years. 
Photograph taken after completing the Com] 
Volume. 



ing of thii 



Memoir and Personal 
Recollection 

of j/BfiCOREY 



A ft A 




Copyright 1914 

by 

James B. Corey 



$y 



PITTSBURGH PRINTING COMPANY 
PITTSBURGH, PA. 



r 
m ^G 1915 

2>CI.A4i670f 



Index to Illustrations 



J. B. Corey Frontispiece ^ 

Opposite Page 

Mrs. J. B. Corey 1 

The Corey Residence 1 

J. B. Corey and Wife 1 

Thomas Neel and Wife 1 

Alfred Corey and Wife 15 

Family of Alfred Corey 18 

Alice C, Phillips (nee Wallace) 18 

Moses Corey and Family 21 ' 

L. C. Corey, Wife and Son 21 ^ 

William Whitaker and Wife 21" 

John Baldridge 21 ^ 

Peter Kidd and Family 26 

Rachel Corey, Son and Grandson 26 

Family Group of J. B. Corey 27 

J. B. Corey, shown at different ages 31' 

J. B. Corey, his children and grandchildren ... 48 

J. M. and John H. Peterson 66 

Hon. Thomas Mellon 72 

Edwin M. Stanton 91 

Abraham Lincoln 91 * 

Rev. James G. Sansom 91^ 

John Quincy Adams 91 / 

William L. Dixon 128 

Bridget Flanegin 140 * 

J. B. Corey and his faithful horse 361 ' 

Hon. Thos. Mellon and Wife 226 

Theodore Wood, School Teacher 226 

Electric Voting Machine 226 

Rear Admiral Forsyth and Wife 276 

Dr. Adam Clark 292 

Wesley's Memorial 292 

New Covenant Mission 378 



Table of Contents 



Page 

Preface 1 

Introduction 2 



PART FIRST. 

Ancbstky of Corey, Adams and Kidd Tribes. 

Chapter 1. 

Corey Tribe, Family Eecord 11 

Corey, Benijah and Deborah 12 

Corey, Alfred (My Father) 15 

Corey, Rachel (My Mother) . . . . 18 

Corey, Alfred and Rachel's Children 18 

Corey, Moses (My Father's Brother) . . . .21 

Chapter 2. 
James Adams Tribe 23 

Chapter 3. 
Peter Kidd Tribe 26 



PART SECOND. 
Life of James B. Corey. 

Chapter 1. 

My Boyhood and School Days 27 

Wages and living expenses in 1840 27 

First Public School at Port Perry 30 

First Sunday School 31 



vi. Table of Contents — Continued. 

Page 

Introduction to General Scott, 1847 35 

First meeting with John Herron 36 

Chapter 2. 

I Start to Work 40 

My first job, April, 1846 40 

Slave girl loses 200 acres land 41 

Building of Locks and Dams across Monon- 

gahela River 42 

My first Promotion — Failure as Teamster 

and an Accident prevent a Murder. ... 42 

My first Decision on Liquor — Lose my Job 45 

Become Clerk in a Store 46 

Chapter 3. 

My Courtship and Marriage 48 

The Peter Kidd Twins 48 

I marry Elizabeth Ann Kidd 48 

The other Twin — Mrs. Thomas Neel 49 

Chapter 4. 

My Start in River Coal Business 50 

Drive an old mule in a mine 50 

Mule wins an argument and I quit 50 

Cook on a flat boat 51 

Flat boat pilot 52 

Chapter 5. 

Qualifications for a successful Coal Boat Pilot 53 

Chapter 6. 

Traits of the early River Pilots 56 

(Characters and Incidents). 



Table of Contents — Continued. vii. 

Chapter 7. ^^ 

Early River Coal Trade 

Methods of Mining, Transporting, etc. ... 64 

Chapter 8. 

First Partnership in Coal Business (1856) .... 68 

J. M. & J. H. Peterson 68 

Stranded in Louisville 68 

In trouble in New Orleans 69 

John Herron loans us money 70 

First acquaintance with Thomas Mellon ... 72 

I meet John Harper, Cashier 75 



Chapter 9. 

J. B. Corey & Co." organized 77 

New Orleans conditions in 1860 77 

Ask Lincoln to make A. H. Stephens Secre- 
tary of War 80 

Last River Trip before the War 81 

First Tow of Coal on the Mississippi 81 



c i 



PART THIRD. 

War of the Rebellion. 

Chapter 1. 
Northern Coal Business Ruined 83 



Chapter 



9 



I try to Enlist 84 

Second meeting with General Scott 84 



viii. Table of Contents — Continued. 

Chapter 3. p 

Government job in Washington at $50.00 a 

month 86 

Contact with Lincoln, Cameron, Stanton, 

etc 86 

Handling Army supplies in Washington. . . 87 

Battle of Bull Enn demoralizes Washing- 
ton 89 

Prepare to burn our Army supplies 89 

Chapter 4. 

Eecollections of Lincoln and his Cabinet 91 

Simon Cameron 94 

Edwin M. Stanton 95 

Chapter 5. 
End of my Government work 97 

Chapter 6. 

General Butler 

Holds up Cargo of Sugar 98 

Trys to prevent payment for our coal 100 

In Memorium : Tribute to General Butler . . 101 

Chapter 7. 

Call for Volunteer Nurses 104 

Typical ' ' Copperhead ' ' Incident 104 

I enter Hospital Service 105 

Lincoln's Sorrow for the Wounded 105 



Table of Contents — Continued. ix. 

PART FOURTH. 

Resumption of Coal Business. 

Chapter 1. p 

Return to River Coal Business 107 

"J. B. Corey & Co." dissolved (April, 

1863) 107 

Chapter 2. 

Enter Railroad Coal Trade 

Organize " Corey & Co." (1865)— Brad- 
dock Mine 108 

Method of paying Miners in 1865 108 

Dishonest Weights 108 

I establish lawful weight of 76 lbs. per 

bushel 108 

First co-operative agreement with Miners 

(1886) 110 

My first and only strike 112 

Troubles between Operator and Miner — my 

view after 36 years ' experienc 112 

Chapter 3. 

Operation of Duquesne Mines (1883-1901) 115 

Declaration of Independence (Agreement) 

signed by Miners 116 

Organize Corey Coal Co., June 1, 1885 .... 119 

Give up Duquesne Mine, May 31, 1901 121 

Farewell Address to our Miners 122 

My views on the causes of a strike at Turtle 

Creek, Pa 128 



x. Table op Contents — Continued. 

Chapter 4. Pa(}e 

I discontinue Coal Business, May 31, 1901 132 

Settle up my personal affairs 132 



PART FIFTH. 

Miscellaneous Experiences. 

Chapter 1. 

The Liquor Question 

I refuse to sell Whiskey and lose my first 

job 133 

An instance of ruin caused by the same bar 135 

My second decision 134 

My third trial 136 

Misfortune follows two other Saloon 

Keepers 138 

The Irish couple before Squire Campbell. . 140 
Petition to Pennsylvania Legislature 142 

Chapter 2. 
My Conversion 144 

Chapter 3. 

Rev. James G. Sansom 

Wonderful effects of his preaching, and re- 
ligious incidents connected with his life 
around Braddock 146 

Chapter 4. 

Impression of Cuba 

From a trip in 1904 158 



Table of Contents — Continued. xi. 

Chapter 5. p 

River Trip to New Orleans in 1906 160 

Remarkable effect of Sermon, "The Resur- 
rection", read on two boats 160 

Second reading on boat bonnd for New 

York 162 

Chapter 6. 

Trip to Holy Land in 1912 164 

Storm at Sea 166 

Alexandria to Cairo 172 

Read a Sermon at Jerusalem 176 

Cardinal Rampollo 179 

Another acquaintance in Rome 181 

John Wesley's Church and Residence. . . . 183 
Testimonials presented to me by Passen- 
gers on Ship 185 

Chapter 7. 
Experiences with Oath-bound Secret Societies. 196 

Chapter 8. 
Thomas Mellon, Sr.— Sketch of his life 226 



Appendix of Miscellaneous Events, Correspond- 
ence, Opinions, Etc. 

Tobacco 235 

Farewell Sermon, Read by Request in City of 

Jerusalem 241 

Gladstone, on his illness 261 

Letter of Hon. Thomas Mellon, Dec. 31, 1900, 

and my reply to same 262 



xii. Table of Contents — Continued. 

Page 

Admiral Forsyth's Letters 275 

King George V. on Titanic Disaster 277 

Letter of Woodbridge N. Ferris, Governor of 

State of Michigan 278 

Letter of Eabbi Levy and my reply to same .... 279 

Death and Eesurrection of Jesus Christ 291 

Letter of J. B. Corey to the "New York Voice", 

March 21, 1893 317 

Reminiscence of John Quincy Adams 323 

A New Ballot Box 329 

The Corey Bible — A Priceless Heirloom 332 

Suggestions on the Conduct of the Civil War. . 333 

Political Correspondence, Etc. 

J. B. Corey, Candidate for Governor of 

Pennsylvania 335 

Was Abraham Lincoln a Spiritualist ? 337 

To Hon. John Hay on Salary Grab Act. . . 342 
President Eoosevelt — Extra Session of 

Congress on National Currency 346 

With Senator Nelson 348 

Letter to President Wilson on $100,000,000 

Special Internal Taxation Bill 353 

The Question of Euchre 357 

An Unusual Coincidence 361 

Eetrospect 371 

Conclusion 375 



Maurice Ruben's Experience 378 

A Happy Reunion of Maurice Ruben and His 

Family 395 




MRS. J. B. COREY. 

1914. 

Photograph taken after over 61 years of married life. 




J. B. COREY AND WIFE. 

1872. 




THOMAS NEEL AND WIFE. 
Twin Sister of Mrs. J. B. Corey. 
1872. 



Preface 

(. . . ."Of making many books there is no end; and much study is 
weariness of the flesh' ' — Solomon ) . 



Having passed the age of life in which my men- 
tal and physical powers enabled me to be active in 
the avocations and business pursuits that I had 
taken an interest in, I decided to write my personal 
recollections of the scenes through which I have 
passed my four score years. As I have kept no 
diary it greatly adds to my difficulty in reproducing 
a connected story of my past life. 

I will preface my story by quoting on the follow- 
ing pages the preface used by my life-long and 
truest friend, the Honorable Thomas Mellon, in his 
autobiography. He gives better reasons for writing 
the story of his life than I am capable of giving and, 
having the permission of his sons to use it, I present 
them as the reasons that influence me in leaving my 
own posterity and friends the story of my life and 
the scenes of my four score years. 

The dates on the cuts and page will indicate the 
age at, and when facts stated took place. 

James B. Cokey. 



Introduction 



I will let my newspaper friends introduce me to 
my Corey friends. The editor of the "Weekly 
Standard ' ', an old school mate, W. H. Morrow, in 
1895, requested me to write some articles for his 
paper, giving my own personal recollections of 
Braddocksfield and Port Perry. The late Daniel 
McCarthy, on learning I was going to write an 
article for the i i Standard ' ', appealed to his friend 
Morrow to allow me to write the article for the 
Braddock ' ' Daily News ' \ which Editor Morrow con- 
sented I should do. Editor Morrow said in the 
* i Standard ' ' : i ' There is not a town in the Middle 
States that has a more world wide reputation than 
what is now the city of Braddock. The name at once 
suggests the unfortunate yet brave commander of 
the Coldstream Guards, one of England's crack 
regiments, which met its fate here ' \ It is also sug- 
gestive of the struggles of the whites with the sav- 
age red men. When we speak of Braddock we are at 
once led to think of Gilbert Frazier, Tonnaluka, 
Fort Duquesne, Colonel Washington, General Brad- 
dock, and Beaujean, and many other names famous 
in history. Anything relating to the early history 
of Braddock is of great interest to the citizens of 
Western Pennsylvania. Some time ago we wrote a 
letter to Mr. J. B. Corey, of Braddock, who spent 
his boyhood days in these places, and has the best 
memory of any man we ever met, and who also is an 
able writer, and asked him to send us some of his 
recollections of Port Perry and Braddock for publi- 
cation in the ' ' Standard ' \ etc. — Editor McCarthy 
says through the friendship of J. B. Corey and the 
unselfishness of William H. Morrow, of the Irwin 
Standard, we are enabled to give our readers early 

2 



Introduction. 

reminiscences of Port Perry, Braddocksfleld, Turtle 
Creek, and the surrounding country, as well as to 
furnish an interesting narrative of the early settlers 
of these places, whose descendants by the thousands 
today people these towns and have a pardonable 
pride in their ancestry, as they point to their fathers, 
and grandfathers, and boast of the share each had 
in laying the foundation of this prosperous indus- 
trial center, which has not its counterpart in any 
other mart of trade, on either hemisphere. If we 
designate these memoirs of Mr. Corey, a labor of 
love it is because we are not obvious of, nor unap- 
preciative of, the mental or physical toil, worry, and 
loss of valuable time expended in their collection. 

We believe it to be a labor of love, because he 
considers it to be a duty, in compliance with 
the request of old and young friends who, knowing 
his remarkable memory and his attitude for putting 
the story of our pioneers in the most interesting 
form, before those coming after them, who have be- 
set him for years to take up his pen and indite the 
wonderful scenes which marked themselves indelibly 
upon his memory ; to aid his editor friends has also 
been an incentive toward his contribution of the his- 
tory of men and the times of the ever-fading past. 
This chronology may be aptly termed an heirloom of 
literature transmitted to posterity to enable it to 
have a knowledge of the past, and is therefore de- 
serving a niche amid the favorite gems in your 
library. It is of the men and their progeny who 
have and will continue to bring honor and renown to 
the city of Braddock of whom Mr. Corey is writing. 
His object in giving so much of his time and talents 
is to the end, that the sterling attributes of their an- 
cestors may spur us to an emulation of their vir- 
tuous lives and heroic deeds, and we need not do 
more than read between the lines to discover that 



Introduction. 

following in the footsteps of Mr. Corey himself 
will bring honor and a sufficiency of this world's 
goods to any young man who will take Mr. Corey's 
life, as a guide to direct him. Industry, energy, per- 
severance, temperate habits, and honesty, were his 
watchwords, and though he has passed more than 
the allotted years of life, they still are the index of 
his record. They made him a pilot of coal boats on 
the Ohio River while he was yet in his teens ; they 
secured him the confidence of the men who entrusted 
their property to his care, and though many decades 
have passed since, the faith they had in the young 
pilot has so cemented their respect as to be a pleas- 
ure to them, as to him, to be bound together as 
friends. The editor of this paper most sincerely 
appreciates this visible token of Mr. Corey's good 
will toward him, and trusts he may act as to ever re- 
tain it. To those who have patronized this edition 
we also wish to thank, and hope it will be a source of 
pleasure as well as profit. We wish all our friends, 
in fact, every one, an enjoyable Yuletide. That 
every one may do his part to make Home, Sweet 
Home, on Christmas Day, let those blessed with an 
abundance of the goods of this world by the Al- 
mighty Father, attest their appreciation of His 
goodness by dispensing to those in need that which 
will bring them to a recollection that this is the day 
of " good will on earth." — BraddocJc Daily News, 
December 25, 1895. 

Milton Kerns, Editor of the "High Tide", says, 
that The High Tide for August, 1895 is abnormally 
high, and has almost overleaped all geographical 
boundary lines. The topics so ably handled by Mr. 
James B. Corey, extending from the fall of sinful 
Adam to the peace negotiations between Eussia and 
Japan, and will no doubt be very entertaining read- 
ing to all who receive a copy of the August issue. 



Introduction. 

Mr. Corey received an invitation to attend the 
seventh annual reunion of the Corey Family at 
Mooreland, Indiana, Wednesday, August 30th, and 
make an address, but not being able to make the trip, 
he decided to speak through the columns of The 
High Tide in which the writer suggests that he used 
good judgment. Had he decided to go and deliver 
an address before the audience, we fear he would 
have been in the position we call to mind of two 
noted divines, in conversation as to the manner of 
preparing their sermons. One of them said: "I 
write every word of my sermons as I want to be 
sound in doctrine, and preach nothing that is not 
laid down by the fathers/ ' The other one re- 
marked: "Well, I preach extemporaneously, because 
you know the enemy of mankind is a very subtle 
serpent. He is apt if I write to find out what I am 
going to say and as I preach the devil himself does 
not know what I say". 

Mr. Corey 's reminiscences are photographed so 
clearly on the mental tablets of his mind from the 
swift revolving kaleidoscope of time to have deliv- 
ered them in a public address would have been im- 
practicable as they appear in concise form in cold 
type; they can be termed storage batteries; when 
you want to use them, just touch the button. 

Mr. Corey 's personal character stands up 
like a mighty pillar compelling honor and awakening 
courage. As we thread our way through his per- 
sonal recollections covering three score and ten 
years, his historical quotations that from the begin- 
ning of time have been winnowed and sifted through 
the gates of the ages, his reminiscences of the past 
century as we are forced to the conclusion, that force 
and energy of hundreds of average men, have been 
used by nature in the making of this extraordinary 
man. His career and private life, crowned with 

5 



Inteoduction. 

honors conferred upon him in recognition of supe- 
rior merit. His name is interwoven with the his- 
tory of the city of Pittsburgh and is recognized as 
that of one who has made this world better for his 
having lived in it. To the youth o£ coming genera- 
tions his advice and example can best be voiced in 
the language of William Cullen Bryant. 

"So live that when thy summons comes to join, 

The innumerable caravan, which moves, 
To the mysterious realm, where each shall take; 
His chamber in the silent halls of death, 

Thou go not like the quarry slave at night, 
Scourged to his dungeon, but sustained and soothed, 
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave, 
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch, 
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." 



Just A Word About Mr. Corey's Memoirs, 

By Rev. Maueice Ruben. 
Editor of Glory of Israel. 
(See Appendix.) 



It was my privilege to read the copy sheets of 
Mr. Corey's book and I feel prompted to write 
briefly what I think about it. I have known for 
some time that it was his desire to leave to his pos- 
terity his memoirs in a permanent form, and I was 
more than surprised to find the material of the book 
so well prepared. The reading of the various chap- 
ters proved so interestingly fascinating that I could 
hardly separate myself from the pages, till I had 
finished reading them all. 

The author looms up in this work as a man of 
unflinching grit in dealing with the vexing problems 

6 



Intkoduction. 

of either labor, politics or religion. He stands for 
uncompromising principles, he tears the mask from 
the frauds, fakes and shams. He hits high or low 
and withal remains the sage, the seer and the 
prophet. 

I personally thank God for permitting Brother 
Corey to publish this valuable contribution of "Per- 
sonal Memoirs''. It will make a deep impression 
upon the readers and many will call him blessed for 
having lived, fought and spoken for righteousness, 

truth and principle". 

# =* * * 

With these editorial send-offs, I might and 
would rest my own personal record, but for the fact 
that I have inherited my share of the Corey weak- 
ness (love of flattery and self-praise) and of having 
the last word. As this is a family secret and not 
likely to get into the newspapers, by way of apology 
for myself, I will say to you, "This human frailty is 
not a peculiarity of the Coreys alone. You who 
read the newspapers must have noticed that some of 
the most noted men of this nation, have these traits 
coursing through their veins which King Solomon so 
strongly deprecated." 



Intkoduction. 



Preface of 
"Hon. Thomas Mellon and His Times". 

(Quoted with permission of his sons). 



i i Is a knowledge of our ancestors of any use to 
us? Is there any benefit to be derived from know- 
ing their character and habits, and what manner of 
men they were of? We may have inherited no 
worldly possession from them, but never can ignore 
the good or bad qualities they are sure to have left 
us by heredity. To what extent in this way may not 
the shading of our mental, moral, and physical char- 
acter and habits be due to them? In what propor- 
tions have our different ancestors contributed to our 
make up? Science teaches that we are but repro- 
ductions of those gone before us, each individual but 
a new edition of a work published long ago with 
some slight modifications — additions, or subtrac- 
tions — improving or impairing the original text. 
Some of our inherited qualities may be very good, 
others very bad ; some should be cultivated, others 
repressed; and if we knew just how we came by them 
and how they cropped out or were manifested in our 
predecessors, we might deal with them all the more 
intelligently. The natural affection for ancestors 
and for pictures of remote ancestors, may therefore 
be a wise provision, but in this direction we can ob- 
tain little assistance from a family portrait. An old 
picture may be a very poor likeness of the original, 
and at best can show nothing of his true character 
and qualities, but still natural affection clings to it, 
and imagination supplies those we would flatter in 
ourselves. How much more satisfactory would it 
not be if we could have a true representation of our 

8 



Introduction. 

ancestors ' course through life from first to last as in 
a panorama, showing his thoughts and actions, his 
good and bad qualities ; what were his feelings on 
trying occasions, how he bore prosperity or adver- 
sity ; what were his views on the current affairs of 
his day ; what his motives and methods and what he 
accomplished or wherein he failed; how he per- 
formed his duties as a citizen and fulfilled his domes- 
tic relations. Such a picture would bring him home 
to us in his working clothes, and reveal the hidden 
ties between his nature and our own. It would pre- 
sent to us that identity which through life he re- 
garded as himself, and not a mere presentation of 
the outward and changeable husk or envelope in 
which he was contained, and through which it is 
never easy to read the contents. I was thus led to 
reflect whether such a picture was possible. The 
nearest approach to it would be a true narrative of 
the ancestor's life written by himself; no other could 
do the work as well, as no other could know the facts 
and circumstances so accurately. And, finally, let 
me entreat those of my descendants into whose 
hands this memento of affection may fall, to handle 
and preserve it with care, remembering that it is 
committed to them for safe-keeping not only for 
themselves but for their descendants likewise, and 
that it will not be for sale in the bookstores nor anyt 
new edition published ; and remembering also what 
satisfaction it may afford a descendant of theirs and 
mine, many generations hence to read the history of 
one of his remote ancestors as related by the ances- 
tor himself. I advise this not on account of any in- 
trinsic merit in the book itself, but because it may in 
time become a valued ancestral relic and for that 
reason its defects may be overlooked for the sake of 
the author. ' ' 




PART FIRST 
Chapter 1 

Jffamtlti ftttatb of % (Hatty ©rib* 

(Ancestors English.) 




HE Cory tribe trace their lineage to the 
English Admiral and Freebooter, Sir 
Francis Drake, who they claim married 
Mary Ann Cory, and to whom he left his 
estate and a fortune of over one hundred 
and fifty millions at present lying in the Bank of 
England. This statement is a canard; I had the 
Hon. John Hay, our Amabassador to England , in- 
vestigate the claim for me (having formed Mr. 
Hay 's acquaintance when he was the Private Secre- 
tary of Abraham Lincoln in 1861). Mr. Hay upon 
inquiry found that there never had been such a sum 
of money deposited in the Bank of England, await- 
ing the heirs of Sir Francis Drake and also learned 
that Francis Drake had never been married to Mary 
Ann Cory, or any other woman, but had lived and 
died a bachelor. 

I have not been able to get an authentic or re- 
liable record of my ancestors, but there being no 
doubt that they were descendants of Adam and Eve 
(and having inherited their share of their ancestors' 
virtues and weaknesses), I will content myself with 

11 



12 



Memoib and Personal Recollection. 



tracing my record on my father's side of the house 
to Benijah Cory and Deborah Talford Williams, 
and, on my mother 's side of the house, to Grand- 
father James Adams and Elizabeth Black, with as- 
surances as to length of days or Christian achieve- 
ments. I am not at all likely to elevate the noble ex- 
amples which they have left on the pages of family 
history. 

Benijah and Deborah Cory. 

Grandfather Benijah Cory was born at Burling- 
ton, Vt, October 24th, 1778, and died at the home of 
his son John Nelson Cory, near Fort Wayne, 
Indiana, March 4th, 1870, age 91 years and four 
months. His wife, Deborah Talford Williams, was 
born September 10th, 1780, and died at the home of 
her daughter Mrs. Lydia Stouts in Wheeling, W. Va., 
August 25th, 1872, age 91 years, 11 months and 14 
days. Grandmother Deborah Talford Williams was 
of Quaker descent. Grandfather and Grandmother 
were married February 20th, 1799. To them were 
born six sons and six daughters, as follows : 

Anna born February 

John 

Alfred (My father) . . . 

Moses 

Charles Wesley 

Lewis 

John Nelson 

Lydia, W 

Phoebia J 

Deborah M 

Melissa 

and 
Evaline 

Grandfather Benijah Cory was a John Wesley 
Methodist, having joined the Methodist Episcopal 



February 


20th, 1800 


July 


4th, 1802 


April 


6th, 1804 


June 


9th, 1806 


July 


19th, 1811 


September 11th, 1813 


January 


27th, 1816 


May 


17th, 1818 


April 


4th, 1821 


July 


5th, 1823 


November 


6th, 1825 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 13 

Church in 1808. He was a class leader in the 
Methodist Episcopal Church for 55 years, priding 
himself in never failing to meet his class a single 
Sabbath during that number of years. 

Benijah and Deborah Cory entered upon their 
married life by purchasing 300 acres of land in what 
was then the western wilderness, but today is the 
center of New York City. After clearing off their 
farm and getting it into a high state of cultivation, 
on which six sons and four daughters of their twelve 
children were born, some of whom had grown up to 
young manhood and womanhood, the father (against 
the protests of his wife and children) on account of 
the children from the village stealing his fruit, sold 
his New York State farm and emigrated to the wilds 
of Pennsylvania where he purchased and cleared off 
another farm which today is a part of Brookville, 
Pa. When the trend of civilization again trenched 
on his rural tastes, he sold his Brookville farm and 
bought another near Fort Wayne, Indiana, and when 
the suburbs of this western city likewise began to 
encroach on his preserves, he sold out again and 
hied himself away to Peru, Indiana, where he pur- 
chased another farm which today is the suburbs of 
that western city. At Peru, he and his wife con- 
tracted the fever and ague ; this, with old age, forced 
them to visit their three sons who were living at 
Port Perry on the banks of the Monongahela River, 
in 1846. This is my first recollection of my Grand- 
parents. 

It was sad to see an old man, on a hot summer's 
day, shake as if he had a winter chill, and in addi- 
tion to the ague chill there was one not less chilly 
which the old man was sure to get from the old lady, 
and his sons by reminding him that if he had taken 
their advice and not have sold his York State farm 
he would not be having the Indiana shakes. It so 
happened that Grandfather had the shakes one day 



14 Memoie and Peksonal Recollection. 

and Grandmother the next. On grandpa 's off day 
he would try to enthuse us with telling us about the 
large corn stalks, long ears of corn and fat hogs he 
had on his Indiana farm. This was too much for 
my father's trait of gratitude which he owed his 
parents. He had just returned from New York 
City, and with seeming delight would tell his parents 
how they were running streets through his former 
homestead ; the tine rows of houses that were built in 
the orchards he had helped to plant ; of the large 
factories which stood where the old log cabin stood 
in which he was born, and the fine country residences 
on the land he had helped to clear off in his boyhood 
days. Grandmother would chime in with: "I told 
father not to sell, but he would not listen to me ; if he 
had taken my advice and not sold our Punxsutawney 
farm he would not now be shaking with the fever and 
ague." "Yes", father added, "if we had one of 
those fine country residences on the ground I helped 
to clear off I would not give it for the whole State of 
Indiana f '. Thus these Job 's comforters would in- 
crease the old man 's shivers, when my mother who 
was the Good Samaritan, with her cup of hot bone- 
set tea, and still warmer words of comfort, whisper- 
ing in grandpa's ear, "It might have been worse; 
the York State farm might have been sold for 
taxes," etc. "Here, grandpap, drink this cup of 
hot tea, it will warm you up. ' ' The boys wished 
they were all like mother and would stop chiding 
grandpap with his misfortunes. The next day 
Moses Corey and his wife came out from the city to 
visit their aged parents. This was grandmother's 
day to shake. She was a tall, slender, Quaker lady 
not weighing over 120 pounds, and while she could 
not get up as big a shiver as did the old man, she did 
not take it as patiently as he did. Neither of the 
additional Job's comforters in the persons of Moses 
Corey and wife would listen to the story of long 




ALFRED COREY. 

Father of J. B. Corey 

1860. 

(See Page 15.) 





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1\[RS. RACHEL COKI0V 

Wife of Alfred Corey, 

Mother of J. B. Corey. 

1858. 

(See page IS.) 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 15 

corn stalks, big ears of corn and fat hogs, but would 
remind him of the big price per foot that corner lots 
were selling for on that York State farm. In a few 
days grandfather went back to Indiana to harvest 
his crops and to sell his Peru farm. 



ALFRED COREY. 

(My Father.) 

Alfred Corey was born April 6th, 1804, on his 
father's farm on Manhattan Island, N. Y., now part 
of New York City. At the age of 19 he moved with 
his parents to Jefferson County, Pa. On April 25th, 
1831, he married Rachel Adams, daughter of James 
Adams of Franklin, Venango County, Pa., her sister, 
Lydia Adams marrying his brother, Moses Corey. 

It will be noted that Alfred and his brother 
Moses added the letter ' l e ' ' to their name, for good 
luck, making five instead of four letters in their 
names. 

Alfred and Moses Corey formed a partnership 
in the contracting business under the title of " A. & 
M. Corey", and built several sections of the Sandy 
and Beaver canal. In 1839 they contracted for and 
built Lock & Dam No. 2 across the Monongahela 
River at Pieriestown, Pa. (afterwards called Port 
Perry) , in which work their brother, Charles Wesley 
Corey, was one of their employees. Alfred moved 
his family to McKeesport until he could build two 
one-story sixteen-foot shanties on the side of the hill 
at Pieriestown for their families to live in, to which 
they moved April 1st, 1840. 

After completion of the dam, Alfred and Moses 
decided to use the money from same to buy a stock 
of goods in New York City. This was their first 
visit to the place of their birth, from which they had 
emigrated in 1823, or twenty-four years before, to 



iC Memoik and Personal Eecollection. 

the wilds of Pennsylvania. When they saw the 
blocks of business houses and hotels on the grounds 
from which they had helped their father grub 
stumps and thorn bushes into rich farming land, 
they complained of the apparent lack of foresight on 
the part of their father in selling the ground. As 
will be noted in the narrative of Grandfather Beni- 
jah's life, this caused them to manifest little pa- 
tience, and filial affection towards their father when 
he would hold up one arm and with the other at the 
elbow would say : ' ' The big ears of corn on the Peru 
farm were that long. ' ' The big ears of corn did not 
look very large to Alfred and Moses after seeing 
those big blocks of store houses on the York State 
farm ; yet in after years neither did Alfred or Moses 
show any greater wisdom or foresight than did their 
father. Little did they think when chiding their 
father with his lack of foresight that their own chil- 
dren would live to see one lot 40 by 110 on the Brad- 
docksfield farm (which father had bought and 
thro wed up a few years before), would sell for more 
than three times what he was to pay for the farm of 
328 acres. Father had agreed to take the Brad- 
docksfield farm at $9,000, and the Oliver farm at 
$7,000, offering his brother Moses the choice of 
farms, but Moses refused to take either, saying he 
had grubbed all the briers and thorn bushes in York 
State he ever intended to grub. If father wanted to 
put his share of the profits from building the lock 
and dam in farms he could do so, but none of his was 
going to be spent on farms. After quarreling 
nearly all night father went to the city and forfeited 
the $500, which he had put on the two farms, both of 
which are covered with much costlier structures 
than covered the York State farm in 1846. The 
Braddock National Bank paid for a lot 20 x 130 feet 
of this same farm $25,000. Nor was my foresight any 
more farseeing than my father's and Uncle Moses' 




MRS. J. B. COREY. 

1914. 

Photograph taken after over 61 years of married life. 



» 


1 


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* 


1"' ' 

i 

BRAGGON^ 



J. B. 



COREY AND WIFE. 

1872. 




THOMAS NEEL A.ND WIFE. 
Twin Sister of Mrs. J. B. Corey. 
1872. 



Preface 

(. . . ." Of making many books there is no end; and much study is 
weariness of the flesh ' ' — Solomon ) . 



Having passed the age of life in which my men- 
tal and physical powers enabled me to be active in 
the avocations and business pursuits that I had 
taken an interest in, I decided to write my personal 
recollections of the scenes through which I have 
passed my four score years. As I have kept no 
diary it greatly adds to my difficulty in reproducing 
a connected story of my past life. 

I will preface my story by quoting on the follow- 
ing pages the preface used by my life-long and 
truest friend, the Honorable Thomas Mellon, in his 
autobiography. He gives better reasons for writing 
the story of his life than I am capable of giving and, 
having the permission of his sons to use it, I present 
them as the reasons that influence me in leaving my 
own posterity and friends the story of my life and 
the scenes of my four score years. 

The dates on the cuts and page will indicate the 
age at, and when facts stated took place. 

James B. Corey. 



Introduction 



I will let my newspaper friends introduce me to 
my Corey friends. The editor of the "Weekly 
Standard", an old schoolmate, W.H.Morrow, in 
1895, requested me to write some articles for his 
paper, giving my own personal recollections of 
Braddocksfield and Port Perry. The late Daniel 
McCarthy, on learning I was going to write an 
article for the " Standard", appealed to his friend 
Morrow to allow me to write the article for the 
Braddock ' i Daily News ' \ which Editor Morrow con- 
sented I should do. Editor Morrow said in the 
"Standard": "There is not a town in the Middle 
States that has a more world wide reputation than 
what is now the city of Braddock. The name at once 
suggests the unfortunate yet brave commander of 
the Coldstream Guards, one of England's crack 
regiments, which met its fate here ' '. It is also sug- 
gestive of the struggles of the whites with the sav- 
age red men. When we speak of Braddock we are at 
once led to think of Gilbert Frazier, Tonnaluka, 
Fort Duquesne, Colonel Washington, General Brad- 
dock, and Beau jean, and many other names famous 
in history. Anything relating to the early history 
of Braddock is of great interest to the citizens of 
Western Pennsylvania. Some time ago we wrote a 
letter to Mr. J. B. Corey, of Braddock, who spent 
his boyhood days in these places, and has the best 
memory of any man we ever met, and who also is an 
able writer, and asked him to send us some of his 
recollections of Port Perry and Braddock for publi- 
cation in the "Standard", etc. — Editor McCarthy 
says through the friendship of J. B. Corey and the 
unselfishness of William H. Morrow, of the Irwin 
Standard, we are enabled to give our readers early 



Introduction. 

reminiscences of Port Perry, Braddocksfield, Turtle 
Creek, and the surrounding country, as well as to 
furnish an interesting narrative of the early settlers 
of these places, whose descendants by the thousands 
today people these towns and have a pardonable 
pride in their ancestry, as they point to their fathers, 
and grandfathers, and boast of the share each had 
in laying the foundation of this prosperous indus- 
trial center, which has not its counterpart in any 
other mart of trade, on either hemisphere. If we 
designate these memoirs of Mr. Corey, a labor of 
love it is because we are not obvious of, nor unap- 
preciative of, the mental or physical toil, worry, and 
loss of valuable time expended in their collection. 

We believe it to be a labor of love, because he 
considers it to be a duty, in compliance with 
the request of old and young friends who, knowing 
his remarkable memory and his attitude for putting 
the story of our pioneers in the most interesting 
form, before those coming after them, who have be- 
set him for years to take up his pen and indite the 
wonderful scenes which marked themselves indelibly 
upon his memory ; to aid his editor friends has also 
been an incentive toward his contribution of the his- 
tory of men and the times of the ever-fading past. 
This chronology may be aptly termed an heirloom of 
literature transmitted to posterity to enable it to 
have a knowledge of the past, and is therefore de- 
serving a niche amid the favorite gems in your 
library. It is of the men and their progeny who 
have and will continue to bring honor and renown to 
the city of Braddock of whom Mr. Corey is writing. 
His object in giving so much of his time and talents 
is to the end, that the sterling attributes of their an- 
cestors may spur us to an emulation of their vir- 
tuous lives and heroic deeds, and we need not do 
more than read between the lines to discover that 



Introduction. 

following in the footsteps of Mr. Corey himself 
will bring honor and a sufficiency of this world's 
goods to any young man who will take Mr. Corey's 
life, as a guide to direct him. Industry, energy, per- 
severance, temperate habits, and honesty, were his 
watchwords, and though he has passed more than 
the allotted years of life, they still are the index of 
his record. They made him a pilot of coal boats on 
the Ohio River while he was yet in his teens ; they 
secured him the confidence of the men who entrusted 
their property to his care, and though many decades 
have passed since, the faith they had in the young 
pilot has so cemented their respect as to be a pleas- 
ure to them, as to him, to be bound together as 
friends. The editor of this paper most sincerely 
appreciates this visible token of Mr. Corey's good 
will toward him, and trusts he may act as to ever re- 
tain it. To those who have patronized this edition 
we also wish to thank, and hope it will be a source of 
pleasure as well as profit. We wish all our friends, 
in fact, every one, an enjoyable Yuletide. That 
every one may do his part to make Home, Sweet 
Home, on Christmas Day, let those blessed with an 
abundance of the goods of this world by the Al- 
mighty Father, attest their appreciation of His 
goodness by dispensing to those in need that which 
will bring them to a recollection that this is the day 
of " good will on earth." — Braddock Daily News, 
December 25, 1895. 

Milton Kerns, Editor of the "High Tide", says, 
that The High Tide for August, 1895 is abnormally 
high, and has almost overleaped all geographical 
boundary lines. The topics so ably handled by Mr. 
James B. Corey, extending from the fall of sinful 
Adam to the peace negotiations between Russia and 
Japan, and will no doubt be very entertaining read- 
ing to all who receive a copy of the August issue. 



Intkoduction. 

Mr. Corey received an invitation to attend the 
seventh annual reunion of the Corey Family at 
Mooreland, Indiana, Wednesday, August 30th, and 
make an address, but not being able to make the trip, 
he decided to speak through the columns of The 
High Tide in which the writer suggests that he used 
good judgment. Had he decided to go and deliver 
an address before the audience, we fear he would 
have been in the position we call to mind of two 
noted divines, in conversation as to the manner of 
preparing their sermons. One of them said: "I 
write every word of my sermons as I want to be 
sound in doctrine, and preach nothing that is not 
laid down by the fathers/ • The other one re- 
marked: "Well, I preach extemporaneously, because 
you know the enemy of mankind is a very subtle 
serpent. He is apt if I write to find out what I am 
going to say and as I preach the devil himself does 
not know what I say". 

Mr. Corey 's reminiscences are photographed so 
clearly on the mental tablets of his mind from the 
swift revolving kaleidoscope of time to have deliv- 
ered them in a public address would have been im- 
practicable as they appear in concise form in cold 
type; they can be termed storage batteries; when 
you want to use them, just touch the button. 

Mr. Corey's personal character stands up 
like a mighty pillar compelling honor and awakening 
courage. As we thread our way through his per- 
sonal recollections covering three score and ten 
years, his historical quotations that from the begin- 
ning of time have been winnowed and sifted through 
the gates of the ages, his reminiscences of the past 
century as we are forced to the conclusion, that force 
and energy of hundreds of average men, have been 
used by nature in the making of this extraordinary 
man. His career and private life, crowned with 

5 



Introduction. 

honors conferred upon Mm in recognition of supe- 
rior merit. His name is interwoven with the his- 
tory of the city of Pittsburgh and is recognized as 
that of one who has made this world better for his 
having lived in it. To the youth o£ coming genera- 
tions his advice and example can best be voiced in 
the language of William Cullen Bryant. 

"So live that when thy summons comes to join, 

The innumerable caravan, which moves, 
To the mysterious realm, where each shall take; 
His chamber in the silent halls of death, 

Thou go not like the quarry slave at night, 
Scourged to his dungeon, but sustained and soothed, 
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave, 
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch, 
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." 



Just A Word About Mr. Corey's Memoirs. 

By Eev. Maukice Ruben. 
Editor of Glory of Israel. 

(See Appendix.) 



It was my privilege to read the copy sheets of 
Mr. Corey's book and I feel prompted to write 
briefly what I think about it. I have known for 
some time that it was his desire to leave to his pos- 
terity his memoirs in a permanent form, and I was 
more than surprised to find the material of the book 
so well prepared. The reading of the various chap- 
ters proved so interestingly fascinating that I could 
hardly separate myself from the pages, till I had 
finished reading them all. 

The author looms up in this work as a man of 
unflinching grit in dealing with the vexing problems 

6 



Inteoduction. 

of either labor, politics or religion. He stands for 
uncompromising principles, he tears the mask from 
the frauds, fakes and shams. He hits high or low 
and withal remains the sage, the seer and the 
prophet. 

I personally thank God for permitting Brother 
Corey to publish this valuable contribution of ' ' Per- 
sonal Memoirs". It will make a deep impression 
upon the readers and many will call him blessed for 
having lived, fought and spoken for righteousness, 

truth and principle". 

# # # # 

With these editorial send-offs, I might and 
would rest my own personal record, but for the fact 
that I have inherited my share of the Corey weak- 
ness (love of flattery and self-praise) and of having 
the last word. As this is a family secret and not 
likely to get into the newspapers, by way of apology 
for myself, I will say to you, ' ' This human frailty is 
not a peculiarity of the Coreys alone. You who 
read the newspapers must have noticed that some of 
the most noted men of this nation, have these traits 
coursing through their veins which King Solomon so 
strongly deprecated." 



Intboduction. 



Preface of 
"Hon. Thomas Mellon and His Times". 

(Quoted with permission of his sons). 



' ' Is a knowledge of our ancestors of any use to 
us ? Is there any benefit to be derived from know- 
ing their character and habits, and what manner of 
men they were of! We may have inherited no 
worldly possession from them, but never can ignore 
the good or bad qualities they are sure to have left 
us by heredity. To what extent in this way may not 
the shading of our mental, moral and physical char- 
acter and habits be due to them? In what propor- 
tions have our different ancestors contributed to our 
make up? Science teaches that we are but repro- 
ductions of those gone before us, each individual but 
a new edition of a work published long ago with 
some slight modifications — additions, or substrac- 
tions — improving or impairing the original text. 
Some of our inherited qualities may be very good, 
others very bad ; some should be cultivated, others 
repressed ; and if we knew just how we came by them 
and how they cropped out or were manifested in our 
predecessors, we might deal with them all the more 
intelligently. The natural affection for ancestors 
and for pictures of remote ancestors, may therefore 
be a wise provision, but in this direction we can ob- 
tain little assistance from a family portrait. An old 
picture may be a very poor likeness of the original, 
and at best can show nothing of his true character 
and qualities, but still natural affection clings to it, 
and imagination supplies those we would flatter in 
ourselves. How much more satisfactory would it 
not be if we could have a true representation of our 



Introduction. 

ancestors ' course through life from first to last as in 
a panorama, showing his thoughts and actions, his 
good and bad qualities ; what were his feelings on 
trying occasions, how he bore prosperity or adver- 
sity ; what were his views on the current affairs of 
his day ; what his motives and methods and what he 
accomplished or wherein he failed; how he per- 
formed his duties as a citizen and fulfilled his domes- 
tic relations. Such a picture would bring him home 
to us in his working clothes, and reveal the hidden 
ties between his nature and our own. It would pre- 
sent to us that identity which through life he re- 
garded as himself, and not a mere presentation of 
the outward and changeable husk or envelope in 
which he was contained, and through which it is 
never easy to read the contents. I was thus led to 
reflect whether such a picture was possible. The 
nearest approach to it would be a true narrative of 
the ancestor's life written by himself; no other could 
do the work as well, as no other could know the facts 
and circumstances so accurately. And, finally, let 
me entreat those of my descendants into whose 
hands this memento of affection may fall, to handle 
and preserve it with care, remembering that it is 
committed to them for safe-keeping not only for 
themselves but for their descendants likewise, and 
that it will not be for sale in the bookstores nor anyi 
new edition published ; and remembering also what 
satisfaction it may afford a descendant of theirs and 
mine, many generations hence to read the history of 
one of his remote ancestors as related by the ances- 
tor himself. I advise this not on account of any in- 
trinsic merit in the book itself, but because it may in 
time become a valued ancestral relic and for that 
reason its defects may be overlooked for the sake of 
the author. ' ' 




PART FIRST 
Chapter 1 

JflamUg ftuatb af % (tog ©rib? 

(Ancestors English.) 



MM 



HE Cory tribe trace their lineage to the 
English Admiral and Freebooter, Sir 
Francis Drake, who they claim married 
Mary Ann Cory, and to whom he left his 
estate and a fortune of over one hundred 
and fifty millions at present lying in the Bank of 
England. This statement is a canard; I had the 
Hon. John Hay, our Amabassador to England , in- 
vestigate the claim for me (having formed Mr. 
Hay's acquaintance when he was the Private Secre- 
tary of Abraham Lincoln in 1861). Mr. Hay upon 
inquiry found that there never had been such a sum 
of money deposited in the Bank of England, await- 
ing the heirs of Sir Francis Drake and also learned 
that Francis Drake had never been married to Mary 
Ann Cory, or any other woman, but had lived and 
died a bachelor. 

I have not been able to get an authentic or re- 
liable record of my ancestors, but there being no 
doubt that they were descendants of Adam and Eve 
(and having inherited their share of their ancestors' 
virtues and weaknesses), I will content myself with 

11 



12 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 



tracing my record on my father's side of the house 
to Benijah Cory and Deborah Talford Williams, 
and, on my mother's side of the house, to Grand- 
father James Adams and Elizabeth Black, with as- 
surances as to length of days or Christian achieve- 
ments. I am not at all likely to elevate the noble ex- 
amples which they have left on the pages of family 
history. 

Benijah and Deborah Cory. 

Grandfather Benijah Cory was born at Burling- 
ton, Vt., October 24th, 1778, and died at the home of 
his son John Nelson Cory, near Fort Wayne, 
Indiana, March 4th, 1870, age 91 years and four 
months. His wife, Deborah Talford Williams, was 
born September 10th, 1780, and died at the home of 
her daughter Mrs. Lydia Stouts in Wheeling, W. Va., 
August 25th, 1872, age 91 years, 11 months and 14 
days. Grandmother Deborah Talford Williams was 
of Quaker descent. Grandfather and Grandmother 
were married February 20th, 1799. To them were 
born six sons and six daughters, as follows : 

Anna born February 

John 

Alfred (My father) . . . 

Moses 

Charles Wesley 

Lewis 

John Nelson 

Lydia, W 

Phoebia J 

Deborah M 

Melissa 

and 
Evaline 



February 


20th, 1800 


July 


4th, 1802 


April 


6th, 1804 


June 


9th, 1806 


July 


19th, 1811 


September 


11th, 1813 


January 


27th, 1816 


May 


17th, 1818 


April 


4th, 1821 


July 


5th, 1823 


November 


6th, 1825 



Grandfather Benijah Cory was a John Wesley 
Methodist, having joined the Methodist Episcopal 



Memoib and Personal Recollection. 13 

Church in 1808. He was a class leader in the 
Methodist Episcopal Church for 55 years, priding 
himself in never failing to meet his class a single 
Sabbath during that number of years. 

Benijah and Deborah Cory entered upon their 
married life by purchasing 300 acres of land in what 
was then the western wilderness, but today is the 
center of New York City. After clearing off their 
farm and getting it into a high state of cultivation, 
on which six sons and four daughters of their twelve 
children were born, some of whom had grown up to 
young manhood and womanhood, the father (against 
the protests of his wife and children) on account of 
the children from the village stealing his fruit, sold 
his New York State farm and emigrated to the wilds 
of Pennsylvania where he purchased and cleared ofr 
another farm which today is a part of Brookville, 
Pa. When the trend of civilization again trenched 
on his rural tastes, he sold his Brookville farm and 
bought another near Fort Wayne, Indiana, and when 
the suburbs of this western city likewise began to 
encroach on his preserves, he sold out again and 
hied himself away to Peru, Indiana, where he pur- 
chased another farm which today is the suburbs of 
that western city. At Peru, he and his wife con- 
tracted the fever and ague ; this, with old age, forced 
them to visit their three sons who were living at 
Port Perry on the banks of the Monongahela River, 
in 1846. This is my^ first recollection of my Grand- 
parents. 

It was sad to see an old man, on a hot summer's 
day, shake as if he had a winter chill, and in addi- 
tion to the ague chill there was one not less chilly 
which the old man was sure to get from the old lady, 
and his sons by reminding him that if he had taken 
their advice and not have sold his York State farm 
he would not be having the Indiana shakes. It so 
happened that Grandfather had the shakes one day 



14 Memoir and Personal Becollection. 

and Grandmother the next. On grandpa 's off day- 
he would try to enthuse us with telling us about the 
large corn stalks, long ears of corn and fat hogs he 
had on his Indiana farm. This was too much for" 
my father's trait of gratitude which he owed his 
parents. He had just returned from New York 
City, and with seeming delight would tell his parents 
how they were running streets through his former 
homestead ; the fine rows of houses that were built in 
the orchards he had helped to plant ; of the large 
factories which stood where the old log cabin stood 
in which he was born, and the fine country residences 
on the land he had helped to clear off in his boyhood 
days. Grandmother would chime in with : ' ' I told 
father not to sell, but he would not listen to me ; if he 
had taken my advice and not sold our Punxsutawney 
farm he would not now be shaking with the fever and 
ague." "Yes", father added, "if we had one of 
those fine country residences on the ground I helped 
to clear off I would not give it for the whole State of 
Indiana ' \ Thus these Job 's comforters would in- 
crease the old man 's shivers, when my mother who 
was the Good Samaritan, with her cup of hot bone- 
set tea, and still warmer words of comfort, whisper- 
ing in grandpa 's ear, ' ' It might have been worse ; 
the York State farm might have been sold for 
taxes," etc. "Here, grandpap, drink this cup of 
hot tea, it will warm you up. ' ' The boys wished 
they were all like mother and would stop chiding 
grandpap with his misfortunes. The next day 
Moses Corey and his wife came out from the city to 
visit their aged parents. This was grandmother's 
day to shake. She was a tall, slender, Quaker lady 
not weighing over 120 pounds, and while she could 
not get up as big a shiver as did the old man, she did 
not take it as patiently as he did. Neither of the 
additional Job's comforters in the persons of Moses 
Corey and wife would listen to the story of long 




ALFRED COREY. 

Father of J. B. Corey 

1860. 

(See Page 15.) 





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MRS. RACHEL COREY 

Wife of Alfred Corey, 

Mother of J. B. Corey. 

1858. 

(See page IS.) 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 15 

corn stalks, big ears of corn and fat hogs, but would 
remind him of the big price per foot that corner lots 
were selling for on that York State farm. In a few 
days grandfather went back to Indiana to harvest 
his crops and to sell his Peru farm. 

ALFRED COREY. 

(My Father.) 

Alfred Corey was born April 6th, 1804, on his 
father's farm on Manhattan Island, N. Y., now part 
of New York City. At the age of 19 he moved with 
his parents to Jefferson County, Pa. On April 25th, 
1831, he married Rachel Adams, daughter of James 
Adams of Franklin, Venango County, Pa., her sister, 
Lydia Adams marrying his brother, Moses Corey. 

It will be noted that Alfred and his brother 
Moses added the letter ' ' e ' ' to their name, for good 
luck, making five instead of four letters in their 
names. 

Alfred and Moses Corey formed a partnership 
in the contracting business under the title of "A. & 
M. Corey", and built several sections of the Sandy 
and Beaver canal. In 1839 they contracted for and 
built Lock & Dam No. 2 across the Monongahela 
River at Pieriestown, Pa. (afterwards called Port 
Perry) , in which work their brother, Charles Wesley 
Corey, was one of their employees. Alfred moved 
his family to McKeesport until he could build two 
one-story sixteen-foot shanties on the side of the hill 
at Pieriestown for their families to live in, to which 
they moved April 1st, 1840. 

After completion of the dam, Alfred and Moses 
decided to use the money from same to buy a stock 
of goods in New York City. This was their first 
visit to the place of their birth, from which they had 
emigrated in 1823, or twenty-four years before, to 



16 Memoib and Personal Recollection. 

the wilds of Pennsylvania. When they saw the 
blocks of business houses and hotels on the grounds 
from which they had helped their father grub 
stumps and thorn bushes into rich farming land, 
they complained of the apparent lack of foresight on 
the part of their father in selling the ground. As 
will be noted in the narrative of Grandfather Beni- 
jah's life, this caused them to manifest little pa- 
tience, and filial affection towards their father when 
he would hold up one arm and with the other at the 
elbow would say : i l The big ears of corn on the Peru 
farm were that long. ' ' The big ears of corn did not 
look very large to Alfred and Moses after seeing 
those big blocks of store houses on the York State 
farm ; yet in after years neither did Alfred or Moses 
show any greater wisdom or foresight than did their 
father. Little did they think when chiding their 
father with his lack of foresight that their own chil- 
dren would live to see one lot 40 by 110 on the Brad- 
docksfield farm (which father had bought and 
thro wed up a few years before), would sell for more 
than three times what he was to pay for the farm of 
328 acres. Father had agreed to take the Brad- 
docksfield farm at $9,000, and the Oliver farm at 
$7,000, offering his brother Moses the choice of 
farms, but Moses refused to take either, saying he 
had grubbed all the briers and thorn bushes in York 
State he ever intended to grub. If father wanted to 
put his share of the profits from building the lock 
and dam in farms he could do so, but none of his was 
going to be spent on farms. After quarreling 
nearly all night father went to the city and forfeited 
the $500, which he had put on the two farms, both of 
which are covered with much costlier structures 
than covered the York State farm in 1846. The 
Braddock National Bank paid for a lot 20 x 130 feet 
of this same farm $25,000. Nor was my foresight any 
more farseeing than my father's and Uncle Moses' 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 17 

in 1843, or my grandpap in 1823. In 1865, 1 myself 
bought seven acres of this same farm for which I 
was to pay $700.00 per acre. On the advice of a 
friend, I threw it up, having a week's option on it. 
Today, lots 25 x 125 feet are selling for $1,250 per 
front foot. 

Alfred and Moses applied themselves to store- 
keeping, Alfred in Port Perry and Moses in Pitts- 
burgh, for which neither had talent, taste, or expe- 
rience necessary for success. In a few months 
Alfred tired of selling his goods on credit, generally 
never paid for, and sold his store to Samuel Walker, 
father-in-law of the late James Gr. Blaine, taking his 
notes in payment of same. Walker, going into bank- 
ruptcy, paid the notes off with a bankrupt ticket. 
Moses Corey rinding his store not a success, traded 
it for a lease on a coal mine under Mt. Washington, 
now one of the wards of the City of Pittsburgh, in 
which trade he again found himself in a business for 
which he was little qualified. Alfred subsequently 
engaged in other mercantile pursuits and when he 
reached the age of four score and seven, was sum- 
moned to the silent land. 

I mention the fact of Alfred and Moses not 
being qualified for the business they undertook, be- 
cause thousands of people are mourning because of 
the lack of foresight of their ancestors. The fact is, 
all we get here below is a living. The pleasure of 
earning it ourselves far exceeds any inheritance, no 
matter how great. Another moral I wish to draw is 
this : " Man never is, but always is to be, blest. " 
This proverb is only in part true. There are a class 
of people who never are, and never will be blessed. 
There is another class (of which my mother was 
one) who always was, always is and who always will 
be, blessed. These three traits of character govern 
the human family. 



18 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

Rachel Corey, 
Mother of J. B. Corey. 

The wild storm of adversity and the bright sun- 
shine of prosperity are all alike to her ; however un- 
worthy we may be of that affection, a mother never 
ceases to love her erring child. Often, when alone, 
as we gaze up to the starry heaven, can we in imagi- 
nation catch a glimps of the angels around the 
' i great white throne" and among the brightest and 
fairest of them all is our sweet mother ever beckon- 
ing us onward and upward to her celestial home. 

Mother. 

The music of that silver-toned voice we again 
hear from the spirit-land, singing some soothing 
melody, or telling in simple language "that sweet 
story of old", till forgotten were all our childish 
sorrows. And now, in the strife and tumult of life, 
when the cold world frowns darkly upon us, her 
gentle words come back, bidding us "look above". 
Who can fathom the depth of a mother's love? No 
friendship so pure, so devoted. 

Children of Alfred and Rachel Corey. 

James Benijah (Frontispiece), 
Born April 23rd, 1832. 

Matilda Jane, 

Born August 15th, 1834. Died at Portland, 
Ore., April 3, 1894. 

She married a young Baptist minister, Rev. 
Joseph Walters, at the age of fifteen years and six 
months, by whom she had two sons. Having emi- 
grated to the State of Illinois, her husband took sick 
and died, leaving her two children to care for. Liv- 
ing a widow several years, she married J. K. Philips, 











' T" i iii^P 






Hk 




1 


| fl y| 


1 


i 
4: 


f| f/; :'f* 






.^tB|. * 





MATILDA JANE COREY. 
(Nee Walters — Nee Phillips) 
Sister of J. B. Corey. 
1873 to 1894. 
(See page 18.) 




ELIZA ANN CORY, 
(nee Whitaker) 

1S59. 

(See page 20.) 

Sister of J. B. Corey 




LYDIA COREY. 

(Nee John Baldridgei 

Sister of J. B. Corev. 

1865. 

(See page 20.) 





RACHEL COREY. 

<Xee Kline), Sister of J. B. Corey. 

(See page 20.) 



JOHN NELSON COREY. 

Brother of J. B. Corey. 

1875. 

(See page 21.) 




LEWIS CASS COREY. 

Brother of J. B. Corey. 

1868. 

(See page 21.) 



ALICE C. PHILLIPS. 

(Nee Wallace) 

Daughter of Matilda Jane Corey. 

1873. 

(See page 19.) 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 19 

by whom she had two sons and two daughters. After 
several years of bodily affliction, nearing three score 
years, in which she endured as seeing Him who is 
invisible, she died at Portland, Oregon, laying down 
the cross to take up the crown. Her mantle fell on 
her oldest daughter, Alice Corey Philips, who 
seemed to inherit a double portion of her mother and 
grandmother's spirit, as she became an earnest 
evangelist ; and while today she has a family to take 
care of, yet she finds time with her pen and prayers 
to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to 
the saints. ^ 

She inherited her mother 's religious traits of 
character, was converted when a young girl and be- 
came an earnest worker in the church, especially in 
revival meetings, in which her power in prayer and 
song made her a favorite of the early Methodist 
preachers. 

Their Favorite Old Methodist Revival Hymn. 

Jesus, my all, to heaven is gone, 
He whom I fix my hopes upon ; 
His track I see and I'll pursue 
The narrow way to Him I view. 

The way the holy prophet went, 
The road that leads from banishment ; 
The King's High-way of holiness 
I'll go, for "all His paths are peace." 

Then will I tell to sinners round 
What a dear Saviour I have found; 
I'll point to Thy redeeming blood, 
And say, ' ' Behold the way to God. ' ' 



20 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

Eliza Ann, 

Born September 25th, 1837. 

Mrs. Eliza Ann Whitaker, 
Sister of J. B. Corey. 

She lives with her husband, William Whitaker, 
at Dravosburg, Pa., opposite McKeesport, sur- 
rounded by her four sons and a daughter, within 
four miles of where she was raised from childhood. 
As she grows older her love of old time Methodism, 
instilled into her mind by her mother, grows 
stronger, as does the hope of meeting her in that 
1 l Sunbright clime, undimmed by sorrow, unhurt by 
time. ' ' 

Lydia, 

Born October 23rd, 1840, at Port Perry, Pa. 

Mrs. Lydia Baldridge, 
Sister of J. B. Corey. 

She married John Baldridge, who died May 29th, 
1909. She lives in sight of where she was born and 
raised, surrounded by her four daughters and two 
sons, all having families of their own. One daughter 
and one son died after reaching young woman and 
manhood, several others dying in infancy. 

William Augustus, 

Born November 10, 1842, died of scarlet fever 
September 28, 1843, aged ten months and thirteen 
days. 

Rachel Deborah, 

Born September 6, 1844. 

Rachel D. Cline, 
Sister of J. B. Corey. 

She died at Braddock, October 20, 1864, in child 
birth of her son, Wi]liam C. Cline, whose father 




L. C. COREY, WIFE AND SON. 
1873. 




LYDIA, WIFE OF MOSES COREY. 




WILLIAM WHITAKER AND WIFE. 

1905. 

(See page 20.) 




.JOHN BALDRIDGE. 

Brother-in-law of .J. B. Corey 

1005. 

(See page 20.) 




MOSES COREY, SR. 

1855. 
(See page 21.) 




MRS. LYDIA COREY AND SON WILBER. 

Wife of MOSES COREY, SR. 

1850. 

i See page 21.) 



Children of Moses Corey 

(see page 22) 





ELIZABETH ANN COREY. 

(Nee Mrs. John H. Peterson} 

1858. 



A. A. COREY. 
Son of Moses Corey, Sr 
Cousin of J. B. Corey. 
1883. 




MARY E. COREY 
(nee Wright) 
1890 to 1914. 




MOSES COREY. JR. 

Cousin of J. B. Corey 

1875. 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 21 

marrying a second wife, moved to Racine, Wis- 
consin, where William grew up to young manhood 
and became a " Fresh Water Tar" on Lake Erie. 



John N., 

Born at Port Perry, Pa., December 17, 1846. 

John N. Corey, 
Brother of J. B. Corey. 

He was murdered June 19th, 1875, by a drunken 
brakeman stabbing him in the back, who he had dis- 
charged for getting drunk and neglecting his work. 

Lewis Cass, 

Born April 14, 1849. 

L. C. Corey, wife and son. 

He was named after a distinguished democratic 
candidate for the Presidential office, although Father 
voted for his opponent. Cass, having a good many 
friends in the Whig party, Father named his young- 
est son after him. 

Lewis has been the rolling stone in the family. 
He spent one-third of his 65 years in the town where 
he was born, 33 years in the West, and nine or ten 
years on his farm near Jackson, the capital of 
Mississippi, where he is now living. 

Moses Corey and Family. 

Moses Corey, my father's brother, was born 
1806, and died February 28th, 1858, age 52 years. 
In 1830 he married Lydia Adams, mother's sister, 
who died September 3rd, 1847. To them were born 
eight children : 

Matilda Jane, 
Mahlon, 



22 Memoie and Personal Eecollection. 

Elizabeth Ann, 
Alfred Adams, 
Mary Emmy, 
Moses, Jr., 
William Ellis, 
Wilber. 

They are all dead but Mary E., the vivacious 
old maid who when born weighed 3y 2 pounds. Her 
lack of confidence in the masculine gender prevented 
"Mollie" from helping to perpetuate the Corey 
Tribe, but nevertheless she is as happy as a May 
bird, especially when on a tour around the world. 
December 23rd, 1913, Mollie found a man she thinks 
will make her declining years happy and married 
Samuel Wright. 



Memoie and Personal Recollection. 23 

Chapter 2 

ijtfiiorg of Jatttffi Abam© ®rth? 

(Ancestors Irish.) 



The following record is contained in the family 
Bible of James and Isabella Weldon Adams, in pos- 
session of their great grandson, Roland Thompson, 
of Milroy, Pa. 

James Adams was born October 30th, 1734, and 
died in October, 1824. Isabella Weldon, to whom he 
was married April 26, 1756, was born September 22, 
1736, and died in September, 1825. The following 
were their children: 

Joseph, 

Born March 18, 1757. 

Died November 17, 1784. ' 

Jacob, 

Born September 23, 1758. 

Died August 23, 1803. 

William, 

Born September 24, 1760. 

Died October 26, 1805. 
Jonathan, 

Born December 20, 1762. 

Do not have date of death-' 
Jesse, 

Born October 2, 1768. 

Died May, 1852. 
David, 

Born September 7, 1766. 

Died August 10, 1787. 



24 Memoik and Personal Recollection. 

Lydia, 

Born October 2, 1768. 

Died September 3, 1847. 
John, 

Born September 23, 1772. 

Do not have date of death. 
James, Jk. (My Grandfather), 
Born October 30, 1770. 

Died August 8, 1851. 
Isaac, 

Born November 12, 1774. 

Died February 15, 1783. 
Weld on, 

Born November 12, 1778. 

Do not have date of death. 
Eli, 

Born May 28, 1780. 

Do not have date of death. 
Levi, 

Born February 18, 1782. 

Died October 27, 1784. 

In the list of officers of the Cumberland County 
Militia in active service in the campaign of 1776 (in 
the War of the Eevolution), printed in Vol. 14, of 
the Second Series of Pennsylvania Archives, page 
372, the name of James Adams appears as Captain 
of the Fourth Company of the Fifth Battalion of 
Cumberland County Militia in the campaign of 1777. 
In Vol. 11, of the Colonial Records, page 90, ap- 
pears the following minute dated Januarv 15, 
1777:— 

" Captain Kickham was directed to pay 
Captain James Adams one hundred and two 
pounds, five shillings, one penny, for expenses 
attending the marching of his company from 
Cumberland County, to be charged to Con- 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 25 

His name also appears in Whig's history of 
Cumberland County among the Captains in the 
Revolutionary War from that county, (page 91). 

Grandfather James Adams, Jr., married Rachel 
Black, who was born in 1775, and died at Franklin, 
Pa., in September, (1886) ? I could find no record 
of their marriage. They had twelve children, as 
follows : — James, Elizabeth, Isabella, Henry Bow- 
man, Mary, Jane, Matilda, Rachel, Lydia, Jessie, 
Samuel, and Josiah. I have no reliable dates of the 
marriages and deaths of their children. 

This record of the Adams Tribe was furnished 
me by Cousin Christopher C. Heydrick, which shows 
that other than adding to the population they left no 
distinguishing mark on the pages of history. 

Cousin Christopher Heydrick and his sister, 
Harriet, perhaps adorn the family record more 
highly than any other of Grandfather Adams' de- 
scendants. Cousin Christopher in the legal profes- 
sion reached the distinguishing position of Chief 
Justice of the State of Pennsylvania. Cousin 
Harriet, with beautiful form, pretty face and lovely 
disposition, was the favorite of noble, and the envy 
of small, minds. Solomon's tribute to the virtuous 
woman (Proverbs 31-10-31), is a good portrait of 
Cousin Harriet. Grandfather's other descendants, 
while they have not elevated it, have not disgraced 
th family record. 



26 Memoie and Personal Eecollection. 
Chapter 3 

ijtatorg of tlje ffeter 2C&& ©rib? 



Peter Kidd 



was born in Washington County, Pa., in the year 
1795. His father was born in Scotland and died 
while he was an infant. His mother married a sec- 
ond husband by the name of Houston, he being 
raised by his Grandmother. Peter Kidd married 
Ellen Wilcox of Armstrong, who proved to be a 
faithful wife and a good mother. To them were 
born three sons ; Alexander, Samuel and Jeremiah ; 
and twin daughters, Margaret Jane and Elizabeth 
Ann. 

Under Chapter "My Courtship and Marriage'', 
will be found further reference to the twin daugh- 
ters. They are also mentioned in "My Introduc- 
tion to General Scott. ' ' 





PETER KIDD. 

Father-in-law of J. B. Corey. 

(See page 26.) 



ELLEN KIDD and Grand Daughter 
ELIZABETH A. XEEL 
(See page 26.) 



[*.?i m \*p 





TWIN DAUGHTERS OF PETER KIDD. 

Wives of J. B. Corey and Thomas Neel. 

(See pages 26-48.) 



RACHEL COREY. 

SON L. C. COREY, 

GRANDSON, ALFRED WALTERS. 

1850. 




WM. YOST. J. B. COREY. S. C. WEIMER. 

MRS. MARY YOST. MRS. THOS. NEEL. MRS. J. B. COREY. MRS. S. C.' WEIMER. 

•JOHN YOST. MARY L. WEIMER. MARGARET YOST. 

ELIZABETH WEIMER. 190S 



PART SECOND 
Chapter 1 



fttfr of Mmtz V. Cmreg 



My Boyhood and Schooldays. 

I was born April 23rd, 1832, on the banks of 
French Creek near Utica, Venango County, Pa., on 
my Grandfather's farm. At one time this was the 
center of the region from whence came the large pine 
rafts which gave us the material for building our 
home, as it also became the basin of that crude fluid 
which lit up our homes. 

In 1840, my father and brother having the con- 
tract to build No. 2 Lock and Dam across the Monon- 
gahela River, he moved to Pieriestown, afterward 
called Port Perry, Pa. There were, all told, eight 
families living in the village. Braddocksfield was 
still covered with the original forest. The building 
of the Lock and Dam required from 100 to 150 men. 
Their hours of work were from daylight to dark. 
Their wages were as follows : 

Stone Masons $1.00 per day. 

Mechanics and Blacksmiths . . $1.00 per day. 
100 to 150 common laborers received 62j^c 
and three gigers of whiskey per day. 

The first strike I ever heard of was the result of 
father being converted in the first Methodist revival 

27 



28 Memoik and Personal Eecollection. 

ever held in Pieriestown by an old time Methodist 
Circuit Rider, who made it one of the conditions of 
his being converted or maintaining his experience 
that he was really "Born Again", that he would 
have to cut out the three gigers as part of the com- 
pensation due employees. This caused a strike. In 
that early day whiskey was part of the compensation 
for farm hands. The strike was compromised by 
increasing the wages to 75 cents per day. The 
largest number of workers on the lock and dam were 
emigrants from Ireland. I recall one who on hiring 
to work at 62y 2 cents per day, took off all his clothes 
(which were not worth over $3), and hung them on a 
bush ; and wheeled gravel, stark naked all day in the 
burning sun. In a short time he had earned enough 
money to buy a set of coal miners ' tools and started 
to dig coal, and soon had saved money enough to buy 
a flat boat which he tilled with the coal he dug him- 
self, floating it to Cincinnati, cleared $500, with 
which he bought two pairs of flat boats, loaded them 
with coal and floating them to New Orleans, cleared 
enough money to purchase a front lot in the town of 
Port Perry, and built himself a two-story, six-room 
house, kept a two-horse carriage, with which he 
drove his family to the Catholic Cathedral, Fifth 
Avenue, Pittsburgh, on Sabbath to attend the morn- 
ing Mass. In former days, before he got suddenly 
rich, he was compelled to cross the Monongahela 
river with his family and climb the mountain at 
Green Springs to worship in a little Catholic Church, 
built by the late T. J. Kinney, father-in-law of John 
G. Kelly, President of the Braddock National Bank. 
His sudden elevation from a paddy behind a wheel 
barrow, bare naked, wheeling gravel at 62*/ cents 
per day, to an Irish gentleman with fine black broad 
cloth suit, behind a spank pair of bay horses, as he 
passed the door of a neighbor, who came over in the 
same ship with him from Ireland, excited her envy 



Memoik and Personal Recollection. 29 

and jealousy. She exclaimed loud enough for them 
to hear her : ' ' Peck a Scab, let a louse crawl from 
under and see how soon it will get up its back. " 

It will, doubtless, prove interesting for me to 
cite the cost of living in Western Pennsylvania at 
this time, before our public offices became the legiti- 
mate spoils of public bosses and legal shysters. The 
average cost of living was about $300.00 per year, as 
follows : — 

Rent of one-story house, 16 x 13 . . . .$12.00 per year 
Rent of one and a half-story house . 18.00 per year 

Rent of two-story house 24.00 per year 

Rent of two-story house with one- 
story kitchen 30.00 per year 

Rent of two-story, four rooms and 

kitchen 48.00 per year 

From one to ten acres of ground usually con- 
nected with the house, tenants usually keeping a cow, 
also raising their own chickens and hogs. 

Other living expenses were : — 

Eggs, 5 to 10 cents dozen in summer, 15 to 25 
cents in winter. Butter, 12^4 to 25c per pound. 
Coffee, 12 to 30c per pound. Sugar, 8, 10, 15c per 
pound. Flour $4 to $10 per barrel according to sea- 
son and crops. Molasses, 15 to 30c per gallon. 
Potatoes, 25 to 50c per bushel, according to season. 
Cabbage and other produce in similar ratio. Pork 
$3 to $6 per hundred pounds. Hay, $6 to $12 per 
ton. Apples, for the gathering and carrying away. 
Common labor paid 75c to $1.00 per day, 6 :00 A. M. 
to dark. 

My boyhood was like that of other boys and 
girls of those days. It was spent in going to school 
four or five months in winter and in summer working 
on farms or at some other useful employment at 



30 Memoir and Personal Eecollection. 

small wages, or none, and board. No children were 
allowed to form indolent Labits or idle away their 
time. The success of a young man of 21, who had 
not learned some useful trade was regarded as 
doubtful. 

First Public School. 

There being no school house, mother gathered 
some nineteen children, including two of her own, 
and started the first school the little town ever had. 
Her nephew, James Bowman, was teacher. Those 
able paid $1.00 per month tuition ; those who could 
not pay boarded the teachers subsequently in turn, 
and only those too poor to pay or board the teacher 
went free. The school books were Cobb's Spelling 
Book, English Reader, Western Calculator, Olney's 
Geography and Kirkham's Grammar. The advan- 
tages that we youngsters had in that early day over 
the youngsters today, before this public charity, 
along with all our public offices, became the spoils of 
political bosses of pothouse politicians, was this: 
The olden-time teachers taught their scholars that 
manly trait of self-dependence, and that only pau- 
pers and sinecures ever expected to lie down on the 
public Treasury for their support. Today we have 
an official plutocracy fastened upon our Govern- 
ments who are prostituting all our public offices to 
their own avarice and greed, against which not even 
our public charities are secure. Our system of 
Government originated in a desire on the part of our 
ancestry to throw off the burden of supporting a 
royal aristocracy, in doing of which they seemed to 
lose sight of the adage, "It is better to bear the ills 
we have than fly to those we know not of." The 
womb limits a royal aristocracy, but there is no limit 
to an official plutocracy. 




J. B. COREY. 




J. B. COREY 
18G0, 



J. B. COREY 
Jan. 1, 1905. 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 31 

First Sunday School. 

My mother reading in the Christian Advocate 
about the first Sunday School started in England, 
converted her day school into the first Sunday School 
the locality ever had. I am the only one of the orig- 
inal nineteen scholars composing that day and Sun- 
day School, who is alive today. We did not have 
any lesson leaves nor song books, our library con- 
sisting of a few primers, Cobb's Spelling Book, an 
English Reader, and the old Family Bible that lay 
on the stand. 

There were but few families that had a Bible or 
even a new Testament. 

In a short time that little cabin became the 
meeting place of the pioneer Methodists. Rev. 
James Welling, the first Methodist circuit rider, 
preached the first Methodist sermon in the town. I 
remember as he rode up to the door and dismounted, 
with his saddle bags full of New Testaments, M. E. 
Hymn Books and "Baxter's Call to the Uncon- 
verted." His first salutation to my mother was, "I 
have come to hold a meeting for you. ' ' " Have you 
the witness of the Spirit that you are born again?" 
"Are you freely justified?" "Have you been 
sanctified? ' ' On receiving an affirmative answer, he 
took from his saddle bags eight copies of "Baxter's 
Call to the Unconverted" saying, "Here, James, 
take these and leave one at each house and tell them 
that there will be preaching in your house this 
evening. ' ' No eight year old boy ever covered the 
same ground in less time, and I have been distribut- 
ing tracts more or less ever since. The book being out 
of print two years ago, I had 5,000 copies printed, 
distributing them all over the world. I took 2,000 
copies with me on my tour to the Holy Land, dis- 
tributing quite a number in Jerusalem and giving 
them to Missionaries on the route and not a few in 



32 Memoir and Peksonal Recollection. 

London, mailing one to King George V., and received 
a letter from his Private Secretary, saying, the 
King commanded him to acknowledge the receipt of 
my letter congratulating him on his coronation and 
to thank me for the booklet. The letter was ad- 
dressed in the King's personal envelope hi mourning 
for his Father, April 15th. On returning from a 
tour to the Holy Land, I stopped over at London for 
four days ; sitting in the Hotel, reading the account 
of that most terrible catastrophe, sinking of the 
Steam Ship, Titanic, involving the. loss of such a 
large number of people, and reading King George's 
most beautiful and tender proclamation of sympathy 
with the friends of the victims of the disaster, I was 
so impressed with the solemnity of the occasion, and 
the noble humane deed, that I picked up a pen and 
wrote His Eoyal Highness a note saying that he 
would receive the commendation of the civilized 
world for his heartfelt expressions of sympathy with 
the grief stricken friends. In signing my note, I did 
not tell him where I was from. On my arrival home, 
my wife handed me a second letter from the King's 
Private Secretary, saying that the King commanded 
him to thank me for my letter commending him for 
his proclamation of sympathy with the friends of 
victims of the Titanic. This impressed me still 
more favorably with this to my mind, that if King 
George the 5th is not the greatest, he is one of the 
greatest Rulers that has sat on the throne of tke 
greatest and most civilized Nation on the earth to- 
day. The English Nation have great cause to re- 
joice in having two such pre-eminently distinguished 
rulers as King George the 5th and his beloved wife, 
Queen Mary, to preside over their Nation. All their 
public acts are characterized, with not only a desire 
to promote the welfare of their own people, but to 
promote peace and good will among the Nations of 
the earth. I am exceedingly sorry to read of the 



Memoib and Peksonal Recollection. 33 

political feuds between Ireland, Scotland, and Eng- 
land, threatening to involve them in a Civil War 
like that which our own Nation from 1861 to 1865 
passed through, which resulted in the sacrifice of one 
million of the flower of American manhood; five 
billions of treasure ; two billion which remains un- 
paid; the devastation of the homes of one-third of 
our own people ; three hundred millions annually for 
pensions to disabled soldiers, their widows, and or- 
phans. I hope my life long friend, the scotch Laird, 
Mr. Andrew Carnegie, may be able to instill a little 
common sense into the pate of the political vultures, 
who are keeping up a perpetual strife between the 
races of people ; who enjoy the richest soil, purest 
air, and greatest blessings of any people on earth, 
and to be happy, only need to live in peace among 
themselves. They seem to lose sight of the adage 
that "it is better to bear with the ills we have than 
to fly to those we know not of. ' ' But I have dis- 
gressed farther than I intended. 

The second incident of my boyhood days which 
affords the greatest pleasure today, as well as being 
one of my special providences which, aside from the 
spiritual good I received, resulted in my temporal 
good to as great a degree as any one act I can recall. 
It was the committing to memory of the entire Book 
of St. John and eight chapters in Acts in one week, 
1,132 verses, requiring the whole of the Sabbath, 
April 13th, 1845, to recite them. I was competing 
with a young girl in the first Sunday School the little 
town ever had, which my mother had started by get- 
ting an old Baptist cobbler to act as superintendent, 
and the son of the man who had laid out the town 
and built it the first school house it ever had, to act 
as secretary. The young girl who was the servant 
of the man who laid out the town, had committed 
regularly 150 verses a week. I had excited the 
teachers and officers of the school by committing 500 



34 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

verses in one week, but boy-like, I would not commit 
any for weeks. In this way, Clarissa Martin, had 
got the Book of St. John and several verses in Acts 
ahead of me. Then they decided to offer prizes to 
the scholars for committing the greatest number of 
verses. The Secretary, George T. Miller, a young 
man in his teens, had a curiosity to see how many I 
would commit. He came to me the last week of the 
year and said : " Jim, Clarissa will not learn any 
verses this week if you will try and take the prize.' ' 
I said if father and mother would allow me to stay 
home from school I would try. On their consenting, 
I started in on returning from Sabbath School, ana 
on the next Sabbath morning, I reported that I had 
committed 1,132 verses, giving me the first prize. 
The young girl began to cry at the thought of losing 
the prize for which she had so faithfully contested, 
The Superintendent, to soothe her, consented to 
allow her to commit what she could during the recess 
of the Sunday School. She recited 150 verses, as 
many as she ever had done in any Sabbath before. 
The Secretary took me home with him to finish re- 
citing what I had committed, it taking until late in 
the afternoon to finish. He docked me every verse 
that I missed a word in, crediting me with 1,028 
verses, which gave the girl the first prize, and tried 
to conciliate me by offering me a book costing same 
price, but I refused, saying, "I had been cheated out 
of the prize and refused to attend the Sunday School 
ever after. ' ' Father would not make, and mother 
could not persuade me to go any more. The book 
which they offered me was "The Martyr Lamb". 
My feat was published in the Sunday School papers 
as having committed 1,028 verses, which was not 
equaled for several years, when a young girl was 
published as having committed 1,100. I am per- 
suaded today, that had I known then what I do to- 
day, and had not lost Thursday chasing after the 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 35 

burning embers from the big fire which burned up 
Pittsburgh, I could having committed the entire 
Book of Acts. In committing verses, ail I had to do 
was to read a verse, shut the book, and repeat it. 
Going through the Chapter, I would hand the book to 
mother and recite chapter after chapter, rarely miss- 
ing a word. 

The dissension over the contest resulted in 
breaking up the school, and not until the Methodist 
Episcopal little brick meeting house was built did the 
little town have another Sunday School. 

In after years when Colonel W. L. Miller would 
meet me, he would say: " Jim, is your memory as 
good as it used to be ? " ' ' I would give 100 acres of 
the best land I ever owned if I had a boy with as 
good a memory as yours", and then throwing his 
broad axe four feet, splitting the chalk line, he would 
say, "I would give another 100 acres if I had another 
boy who could use a broadaxe like me ' ' putting the 
use of his broadaxe and my memory on the same 
level. In that early day the proud American spirit 
prided itself more in mechanical skill than in the 
number of acres of land he owned or the number of 
dollars he had in bank. 

Introduction to General Scott. 

In 1847, General Winfield Scott, having con- 
quered Mexico, wanted to be President of the United 
States. In making a tour of the eastern States in 
company with an old blind sea captain and several 
Pittsburgh lawyers, among whom was the late Judge 
Wilson McCandless, in passing through the lock on 
the Monongahela river on one of the Brownsville 
packet boats, everybody in the little town, on seeing 
the flag, repaired to the lock to learn the cause of the 
unusual display of flag and music. As the boat en- 
tered the lock, us bovs soon found our wav into the 



36 Memoik and Personal Eecollection. 

cabin. Lawyer McCandless, father's attorney, said, 
i i Come here, Jimmie ' \ introducing me to the old sea 
captain, who had f ought under Commodore Perry on 
Lake Erie, in 1812. He said, "Captain, James B. 
Corey committed the whole of St. John and eight 
chapters in Acts in one week. ' ' The old Captain, 
laying his hand on my head said, "James, treasure 
those verses up in your heart; if they do not make 
you President of the United States, they will make 
you a good man. ' ' You can see how that would ex- 
cite a feeling of pride in a fifteen year old boy. Gen- 
eral Scott paid me a compliment for my feat. 

There were two young twin girls (See "My 
Courtship and Marriage") introduced to General 
Scott that no one could tell apart. General Scott 
was so much pleased with these twins that he stooped 
down and kissed them, which pleased their father so 
much that, while he had never voted for any ticket, 
from Andrew Jackson, but the Democratic ticket, he 
cast his first and only Whig vote for General Scott. 

First Meeting with Mr. John Herron. 

Herron and Peterson had opened up a coal mine 
at the Turtle Creek end of Colonel Miller's farm. 
One day while Mr. John Herron, his brother David- 
son and John Peterson, Sr., his partner, were at the 
mine, Mr. Peterson needed change for two one hun- 
dred dollar bills and Mr. John Herron taking out his 
pocketbook, gave Peterson the smaller bills, putting 
the two one hundred dollar bills in his pocketbook, 
which he laid on the top rail of the fence while he 
counted out the small bills to Mr. Peterson. The 
steamboat on which he intended to return to the city 
entering the lock, he started for the boat, leaving his 
pocketbook on the fence rail. 

I had received a present from a farmer of a 
young rooster and a pair of pullets. Cousin Alf 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 37 

Corey, a mischievous boy about eight years old, had 
come out from the City of Pittsburgh to spend Sun- 
day with us in the country. In that day the city 
boys called us boys "Country Jakes", and were in 
the habit of poking the jokes at us. I was busy 
building a chicken pen for my new pets when Alf . 
put in an appearance. At first, he was very much 
taken with my pretty little chickens, but when the 
novelty wore off "Alf" decided he would have some 
more vigorous fun with his ' ' Country Jake ' ' cousin. 
He climbed over the fence into a lot where there 
were some apple trees. After filling himself with as 
many green apples as he could eat, he began to pelt 
me with green apples. Receiving a stinging blow 
from a well directed, hard apple, I ran to climb the 
fence to thrash my city cousin. As I laid my hand 
on the top rail of the fence, it fell on Mr. Herron 's 
old fashioned pocketbook, and as I stopped and 
rolled back the wrapper, my eyes fell upon the two 
one hundred dollar bills that Mr. Peterson had given 
him. I did not stop to see any more, but made a 
break for father 's store which was in one end of our 
home, and running into the store exclaimed: "I have 
found Mr. Herron 's pocketbook which he left lying 
on the top of the fence. ' ' Father took the pocket- 
book and, opening it, found over $1,000.00 in money 
and other papers which Mr. Herron subsequently 
said would have involved a loss of $5,000.00, yet so 
strict a Presbyterian, and such a sacred regard did 
Mr. Herron have for his church obligation and for 
the Sabbath day, that he waited until Monday morn- 
ing before allowing his son, a young man, to come 
out to look after his lost pocketbook. When the 
mail packet boat came to the lock Monday morning 
about ten o'clock, I was on the lookout for Mr. 
Herron. Seeing his son William get off, I ran to 
him and told him I had found his father's pocket- 
book and father had it safe for him in our store. 



38 Memoik and Peesonal Eecollection. 

The young man made a straight path for the store, 
receiving the pocketbook. He thanked father for it, 
and after going around the coal mines, left on the 
afternoon boat for his home in Pittsburgh. He did 
not offer to reward me for finding and returning the 
pocketbook. The Port Perry people having heard 
of the incident, were loud in their criticism of what 
they regarded as a penurious act. 

The next regular pay day at the end of the 
month, old Mr. Herron came out again to pay off his 
miners. Passing by our store, he did not stop to 
say " Thank you' \ This incensed father, who de- 
cided he must be a very penurious man, but along 
towards evening, before the packet boat came to the 
lock, Mr. Herron came along by Jesse Hughes' 
Blacksmith Shop, where a lot of us boys were play- 
ing marbles. He asked Mr. Hughes if there was a 
boy by the name of Jimmie Corey there. The black- 
smith, who was shoeing a horse, replied, "Yes, that 
white tow-head. " I heard him ask the question, and 
looking up said, ' ' I am the boy you are looking for. ' ' 
On seeing it was Mr. Herron, I half suspected I was 
going to get something. He said : ' ' Jimmie, come 
here ; I have a fippenny bit for you. ' ' I started 
feeling quite disappointed that I was only to receive 
a fippenny bit, or six and one-fourth cents, for find- 
ing a pocketbook with over $1,000.00 in it, but when 
I saw him pull the same big pocketbook out of his 
pocket, I knew I was going to get more than a fip- 
penny bit. He took a large roll of money from the 
pocketbook, and I thought I might get all the money 
there was in it when I found it, but I did not have 
long to wait until I knew what I was to get He 
handed me a five dollar bill with some kind words, 
and I started for home. I have never been so rich 
since. However, the people on learning he only 
gave me five dollars were as loud in their denuncia- 
tion of what they considered a picayune reward as 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 



39 



they were of his son not offering to pay me any- 
thing. Later, when in the river coal business, I sent 
my partner, Peterson, home to raise money to meet 
a $1,100.00 check given to a Captain Smith and told 
him to go to Mr. Herron and remind him of his 
promise to help me, and ask him to take our note 
and let us have the money; this, he did, helping us 
out of a very tight place. 




40 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

Chapter 2. 

I Start to Work. 

My father, having inherited his father's agri- 
cultural taste, in order to instill into his boy habits 4 
of industry at the close of school, April 1st, 1846, 
hired me out to Mr. George Bell, the owner of the 
famous Braddocksfield farm, at $5.00 a month and 
board. My mother in introducing me, to stimulate 
her own boy to noble endeavor said, ' ' James, you 
have started to earn your own living on the farm 
where George Washington started upon a career 
that made him President of the United States. It 
was by proving worthy of the trust reposed in him 
that he secured the highest honor of his country- 
men. Now, James, if you will prove worthy of the 
trust which Mr. and Mrs. Bell repose in you, it may 
not make you President of the United States, but 
you will acquire a good name, which is rather to be 
chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather 
than silver and gold. ' ' It was with this good advice 
of my sainted mother that I started out to earn a 
living, and as I look back over four score years since 
I received it, I have no doubt but under a kind 
Providence what little success I have made in life 
was in taking heed to it. 

My work was to help plant and hoe corn and 
potatoes, rake hay, and take care of the children on 
wash day. Mrs. Allen Kirkpatrick, the second 
daughter of my employer and heir to this noted 
farm, is alive today and lives in the famous mansion 
built by Colonel Wallace 127 years ago, being one of 
my nearest neighbors. My house is built on the 
foundation of the barn where I earned my first 
$16.00 working for her father. I got up at 4 A. 
M. to feed the cows and carriage horses, while 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 41 

" Dutch Chris" cared for the farm horses, after 
which we crawled into the straw pile and slept until 
breakfast was ready. 

Slave Girl Loses 200 Acres Land. 

While working on this farm I became familiar 
with one of the interesting incidents of this famous 
farm which Col. Wallace under the original Home- 
stead Act of the National Government secured from 
the Government. Colonel Wallace, who was a slave 
holder, rode on horseback from Louisville, Ky., 
bringing with him a young slave girl who rode be- 
hind him on the same horse. When Pennsylvania 
freed its slaves, the Colonel bequeathed to his slave 
girl 200 acres of this noted farm. The Colonel failed 
to make out the necessary legal papers, but the slave 
girl named ' ' Black Bab ' ' held it for thirty or forty 
years, long enough to give her a good title to it. A 
Pittsburgh lawyer, on learning the facts, took ad- 
vantage of the poor colored woman 's ignorance, told 
her she was a tenant, but that if she would pay the 
small sum of one dollar a month she could live on it 
as long as she lived, and he then bought the land 
from the owners of the Braddocksfield farm in 1861 
for a nominal sum. I bought part of it from the 
shyster in 1865, and learned these facts from the 
late Colonel Hawkins, father of the late Judge Haw- 
kins. A son of the poor colored woman, who was a. 
soldier in the Civil War, moved out West at the close 
of the war. He was on a visit here to his sister. In 
telling me how his mother was defrauded out of her 
farm, he said his mother and children had all they 
could eat and wear, and that his mother died in the 
hope of a home where the lawyer who cheated her is 
not likely to enter. He also said that from what he 
could learn, the lawyer's sons had gone through 
with all he left them, so he was not grieving over 



42 Memoie and Personal Becollection. 

the loss of what might have resulted in his not hav- 
ing a hope of a mansion prepared for him. 

Bell & Buchannon purchased this farm in 1846, 
except a few acres around the mansion built by 
Colonel Wallace 59 years before. The farm was 
still covered over with the original forest trees, the 
largest shell bark hickory nut trees I have ever seen. 
My father, who was fond of hunting, used to take 
me with him in the fall when the nuts were ripe, to 
shoot grey squirrels. He would send me to the 
opposite side of the tree to shake the bushes and 
when the squirrel would come to his side of the tree, 
he would plug it in the eye with his rifle. 

Building of Locks and Dams Ackoss the 

MONONGAHELA BlVER. 

The Monongahela river having been slacked 
with locks and dams for the purpose of developing 
the famous gas coal underlying the hills along its 
banks, Mr. Bell, with a view of opening a coal mine 
on his Braddock farm, gave two men a contract to 
cut down and clear off the large shell bark hickory 
nut trees covering the bottom land, and convert 
them into cross ties for a tram road to the river 
over which to transfer the coal loaded into pit 
wagons to flat boats to be shipped to southern mar- 
kets. This contract called for the two men to load 
the cross ties on the farm wagon to be hauled to the 
point intended to be used. A dispute arose be- 
tween Mr. Bell and Isaac Mills, own^r of adjoining 
farm, as to the lines between their farms where he 
intended to build the coal tipple, necessitating a sur- 
vey. " Dutch Chris' ' being taken away to carry one 
end of the surveyor's chain, I received 

My First Promotion. 

I was promoted to drive the big farm horses 
"Barney" and "Lion" and haul cross ties and un- 



Mem oik and Personal Recollection. 43 

load them along line of proposed tram road. No 
finer horses were ever hitched to a wagon. Mr. 
Bell, (who for years drove Conestoga teams trans- 
ferring goods from the eastern cities) was very 
proud of his two farm horses, and no boy driver was 
ever prouder as he took his seat on the wagon, took 
the reins in his hands and started for the point on 
the bank of the river where General Braddock and 
the Cold Stream Guard, England's Crack Eegiment, 
crossing the Monongahela river reached the shore, 
intent upon whipping the French army and Indians 
and capturing Fort Duquesne (today the City of 
Pittsburgh). He refused to heed Colonel Washing- 
ton 's advice and his famous Brigade was wiped out, 
he himself receiving mortal wounds from which he 
died a few hours later, being buried at the head 
waters of Youghiogheny river, Colonel Washington 
conducting the retreat of the defeated army and 
starting upon a career that immortalized his name. 

The wagon being loaded with cross ties, I 
started across the bottom land covered with tall 
weeds, with only trees and stumps to guide us, and 
while the boy-driver would not have admitted it, yet 
I think today it was as much due. to Barney and 
Lion's instinct how to avoid danger as it was to the 
skill of the boy-driver that we reached the knoll 
where we were to unload the ties. Barney and Lion 
were proceeding along slowly a few yards from the 
tram road, when I noticed two men engaged in a 
fight, and four others trying to prevent them from 
injuring each other. One had an axe drawn to 
strike the other ; the other had the surveyor 's pole 
drawn intent upon thrusting it through his antog- 
onist. I saw it was Mr. Bell and Mr. Mills ; this nat- 
urally diverted my attention from my team, which 
suddenly stepped into a hole covered with weeds. In 
a moment the horses were covered over with a swarm 
of bumble bees resenting the trespass upon their 



44 Memoib and Personal Eecollection. 

hitherto undisturbed possession, Barney and Lion 
stung to the quick, turned suddenly around, twisting 
the front wheels from the wagon. Knowing that I 
could not stop the horses maddened with pain, and 
intent upon running away, I sprang from my seat 
taking a turn with the lines around a sapling, with 
two hitches which brought Barney and Lion to a 
standstill. Mr. Bell, " Dutch Chris' ' and two others 
of the surveying party seeing the dilemma I was in, 
came running to my assistance, and making brushes 
of weeds, they soon relieved the horses of, their tor- 
mentors, praising the boy-driver for his good sense 
and quick wit in preventing the horses from running 
away. Mr. Bell commended me for it more than 
any other act I did while in his employ. After the 
horses quieted down, Chris drove them, with the 
fore-wheels to the stable, leaving the hind carriage 
and cross ties to rot away where the accident 
occurred. Ten years after, in riding in and out on 
Penna. B. B., I was reminded of my failure as a team- 
ster. The surveyor and others present agreed that 
the accident to the team had prevented Mr. Bell or 
Mr. Mills from killing each other. Being powerful 
men with strong wills and courage, resenting what 
they considered as a personal insult and injury, with 
such deadly weapons, I have no doubt but that the 
accident did prevent one or both from being killed. 

A lawsuit tied up the property in dispute until 
after both their deaths. In 1865, I purchased from 
the administrators of both estates, the properties in 
dispute and built a tram road to the Pittsburgh & 
Connellsville B. E., over the route which Bell and 
Buchannon had graded 22 years before, and I mined 
out the same coal they intended to mine out had not 
the dispute about the line between the farms arisen. 
The coal mining project of Bell and Buchannon prov- 
ing a failure, Mr. Bell decided he would return to 
the city and keep a Wagoners Hotel. 



Memoik and Personal Recollection. 45 

Early one morning three teams loaded up with 
furniture of the Braddock Mansion, and started for 
the hotel building at the corner of Penn and Twelfth 
Streets, reaching it at 12:00 M. It required the 
afternoon to unload and distribute the furniture, and 
four days to place it in the rooms where intended. 
Dutch Chris and I started to clean out the manure in 
the stable. We had to sleep on the bare floor of the 
room intended for the bar room, having a quilt for a 
bed and chairs for pillows ; when we stripped off our 
duds at night we were covered with fleas — I will not 
attempt to translate some of Dutch Chris' cuss 
words in English. 

My First Decision on Whiskey Question. 
Lose my Job. 

Late Saturday evening Mr. Bell said to me: 
1 ' Jim, you are not strong enough to put gears on the 
big horses. On Tuesday I will open up the Bar; I 
am now paying you $5.00 a month, and will increase 
your wages to $10.00 a month, and when you learn 
how to tend bar I will increase your wages to $50.00 
a month ' '. I have always believed that this unex- 
pected proposal to give me an easier job was made 
at the instance of his wife, who treated me as kind as 
if I had been her own son. I replied to Mr. Bell : 
"My mother would not allow me to sell whiskey". 
Then, handing me $12.00, balance due me, he said : 
"Your mother will get you another job". 

This was my first stand against this great de- 
stroyer of human life and happiness. I have ever 
since opposed it socially, politically and morally. In 
a separate chapter I will relate other instances in 
defense of my principles on the liquor question, 
when I was compelled to take the same stand against 
what seemed to be my personal interests. 



46 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

I become Clerk in a Store. 

Having satisfied myself, Father and Mother, 
that a farmer's life was not in keeping with my 
physical or mental taste in the three months I worked 
for Mr. Bell, Mother secured me a job in a Novelty 
and Jewelry store on Market Street, Pittsburgh, 
kept by Messrs. Kinsey & Knox, at $4.00 a month 
and board. Mr. Knox sent me to board with his 
mother who kept a private boarding house on the 
corner of Cherry Alley and Fifth Avenue, which at 
that early day was the outskirts of the City. A 
single plank 18 inches wide was the sidewalk, and 
when two persons met, one of them had to step off 
to let the other pass. In the boarding house, Miss 
Martha Knox, an old maid, was her mother's only 
assistant. They set up the best victuals that a 
hungry boy could ask. The only thing lacking to 
make me happy was having to work thirty days for 
$4.00, when I knew I could have had ten to take 
home to mother and her six children ; but then, my 
knowing mother would not be happy if she knew 1 
was selling whiskey relieved it of the odium. 

Mother, proud of her boy's promotion to that of 
a clerk in a store after his refusal to tend bar, 
dressed him up in the best style her means would 
afford. She made me shirts out of unbleached mus- 
lin, with collars extending down over my shoulders, 
a sure sign to the city boy and girls that I was a 
"Country Jake". Mrs. Knox was a Presbyterian 
Mother in Israel, and she marched me with her every 
Sabbath morning to the Second Presbyterian 
Church on Fifth Street. As soon as we entered the 
church the boys and girls in the gallery would begin 
to sing out "Here comes Johnny Snyder, Johnny 
Snyder, Johnny Snyder", keeping up the howl until 
we reached the front seat. On suspecting it was me 
they meant, I asked the other boy in the store what 



Memoik and Personal Recollection. 



47 



those boys and girls meant calling me "Johnny Sny- 
der". He said that Johnny Snyder, President of 
the Bank of Pittsburgh, wore collars like mine, ex- 
tending down over his shoulders. I had mine cut 
down double quick. Later on I will relate how this 
little incident of "Johnny Snyder" resulted in one 
of my most profitable ventures in the southern coal 
trade. 




48 Memoir and Peksonal Recollection. 

Chapter 3 

MY COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE. 

No father was ever more attached to his twins, 
and no daughters ever loved Pa more tenderly, and 
none ever received a better education for the duties 
and responsibilities of good wives and mothers. 

I Maeky Elizabeth Ann Kidd. 

I trace my longevity to the good and wise train- 
ing of Elizabeth Ann, to whom I was married on 
May 26th, 1853. Although lacking three months and 
seven days of being eighteen years old, yet owing to 
the wise precepts and common sense example of a 
good mother in training her daughters for the most 
solemn relation in life, I got a wife whose fidelity 
and ambition to make her own a real home, I could 
ever after unhesitatingly^ confide in. I never had 
any trouble making both ends meet, no matter what 
my income was, and was never afraid to invite a 
friend to come home with me for dinner, even on 
wash-day. 

The father always insisted on his pretty twins 
dressing alike ; this added to the difficulty of telling 
one from the other, which was very perplexing to 
young men who attempted to court them in after life. 
He never could be sure whether he was taking home 
his girl or the other fellow's from church. The 
picture shows the two girls I decided to select a wife 
from. You will readily see it required as much skill 
to perform the feat as it did to successfully pilot a 
pair of coal boats. In the first place there was a 
father and mother who prided themselves on having 
two of as pretty and good girls as were to be found, 
and woe-betide the dude with his hair parted in the 




J. B. COREY AND WIFE. 

1853. 
(See page 48.) 




MARGARET J. COREY. 

(Nee Lawhead) 

Eldest daughter of J. B. Corey 

1905. 




MARY EFFA COREY. 

Second daughter of J. B. Corey 

1880. 



Grand - Children of J. B. Corey 

(see page 164) 




ELIZABETH L. WEIMER. 
MARY L. WEIMER. 




MRS. WM. YOST, 

Daughter of J. B. Corey and three children. 

1905. 





.IOIIX 



JAMES YOST. 
19'] 2. 



MARGARET J. YOST. 
Grandaughter of J. B. Corey 



Memoir and Personal Eecollection. 49 

middle that would dare to go home with their girls. 
Then after passing this outer guard, the trouble just 
began. The boy having the first pick, boy-like, 
wanted the best looking and the best housekeeper of 
the two. This was where the tug of war began. You 
who have had to go through the mill where there 
was only one to pick from, know how it was your- 
selves, but then to have to decide between two, who 
when they would turn around twice you could not 
tell which one you had picked on, and then, * ' Would 
she have you?" And when you had thought you 
had got it down fine, step up and offer your arm to 
take her home from church and have her look you in 
the face and say: "I guess you're off your base", 
and when you make the second attempt meet the 
same look and see other fellows who were enjoying 
the fun at your expense, you can easily see the tribu- 
lations a bashful boy would be laboring under. Then 
again, when you thought you had met the one you 
had last been talking so sweetly to, the risk of giving 
away the secret to the other girl was to the boy-pilot 
like running a pair of coal boats in the fog, only a 
little more hazardous still. But then: " Faint heart 
ne'er won fair lady", so taking his soundings as best 
he could, he sailed right in and safely landed in port. 
But to this day he has never been right sure he got 
the girl he first picked on, and has frequently said 
to the other fellow : ' ' If you did get my girl, I am 
satisfied with the prize I drew", and he would say: 
"I got the best of the two". 



50 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

Chapter 4 

MY START IN THE RIVER COAL BUSINESS. 



Drive an Old Mule in a Mine. 

One morning, Mr. Kinsey, one of my employers, 
told me to look out for another job as they intended 
to close out their business on the first of the follow- 
ing month. Standing in the door of the store, I saw 
Uncle Moses Corey buying some apples from an 
apple stand at the end of the market house. I ran 
across the street and told him that Mr. Kinsey had 
told me to look out for another job, and asked him if 
he could not give me one at his coal mine under Mt. 
Washington, just across the river. He said the only 
job he could give me was to drive an old mule to 
haul water out of the miners ' rooms at 25 cents a 
day and board. This tickled me very much — one 
dollar a month increase in my wages, and boss, if it 
was of an old mule blind of one eye (I had not yet 
learned that 21 feet was only a safe distance from a 
mule). 

Mule Wins an Argument and I Quit. 

On the first of the month I was on hand, and 
took charge of ' ' Jack ' ' and for one week I got along 
fine, pleased the miners in keeping their rooms free 
from water, but the fifth day, after finishing work, 
in leading Jack down the hill, I tried to be a little 
familiar with the old donkey and convince him that I 
was his friend, when he let fly with one foot and 
kicked me on the thigh. His ingratitude aroused 
my dander, and stoning him I tried to drive him 
over the precipice back of Cuddy's rolling mill. 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 51 

The old mule on looking over the precipice over 200 
feet, decided to take chance of getting back past his 
driver. Suspecting that he intended to even up with 
me when he came back where I was, I lay down flat 
on the ground ; he let fly with both feet and had he 
hit me, I would not be here to relate the story. 

On telling my Aunt my experience with the old 
mule, she advised my uncle to put me to work bailing 
flats and selling coal to teamsters. This ended my 
experience as a mule driver and resulted in my 
greatest desire, that of a chance to become a flat 
boatman on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. 

Become Cook on a Flat Boat. 

They floated coal to the lower river markets, 
and I was promoted to a cook on a French Creek 
boat 75 feet long, 16 feet wide, loaded 4 feet deep 
with 4,000 bushels of coal for Cincinnati. The pilot, 
William Watson, and four hands constituted the 
crew, for which I had to cook three meals a day and 
have a large coffee boiler with hot tea or coffee hang- 
ing on the fire where the Watch as they changed 
turns every three hours could get a tin cup of hot 
tea or coffee. One of the hands, a young man named 
John Stubbs, was on his way to take part in an in- 
surrection on the Island of Cuba, and was one of the 
fifty Americans shot for invading this foreign na- 
tion. 

I received $5.00 for my trip, and had to pay one 
dollar fare on the deck of steamboat from Cincinnati 
to Pittsburgh. This left me four dollars clear. I 
gave it to one of the men to care for it while I was 
coming up, fearing some one would pick my pocket 
while I was asleep. When we reached Pittsburgh 
he gave me a two dollar bill on one of the broken 
wild cat banks of that day, which left me only two 
dollars of my five, which was as much money as I 
would have earned at 25 cents a day at home. 



52 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

I was later cook on a pair of boats, then a flat 
boatman, and in two years (December, 1849) I was 

A Flat Boat Pilot. 

When I was still within four months of being 
eighteen years old, I piloted my first pair of boats, 
and was published from Pittsburgh to New Orleans 
as the "Boy-Pilot". 

Had my father not failed in business, he in- 
tended to educate me for a lawyer, and my sainted 
mother had consecrated me for a Methodist Preacher 
of the Gospel, but I had decided to become a flat boat 
pilot. I was a success as a flat boat pilot, but do not 
believe I would have been either as a lawyer or a 
preacher. 

On one occasion at this time, a crew of raw Irish 
had been hired to man some boats moored at Lock 
No. 1, who on coming on board asked for the pilot, 
and on taking one look at the beardless boy, without 
stopping to lay down their gripsacks made straight 
for the shore and city office, and on seeing the owner 
exclaimed: "And troth, Mr. Ledlie, you don't think 
we are going to risk our lives with that boy, do ye I ' ' 
Mr. Ledlie assuring them, persuaded them to return. 
They made the trip, and some of them would after- 
ward say: "Mister Ledlie, put us down for the boy- 
pilot's boats". Thirty years afterward, the late 
Thomas Franey calling to remembrance the little 
incident he and the boy-pilot had a hearty laugh over 
the trivial affair. 

I took all the boats I ever started with, safely to 
market without the loss of one boat load of coal. No 
other pilot floated the same number of boats that I 
did with the same success. 

As of doubtless interest I will mention briefly 
what my long experience has demonstrated to my 
mind to be the qualifications for a successful pilot. 



Memoir and Personal, Recollection. 53 



Oiapt 



er 



QUALIFICATIONS FOR A SUCCESSFUL COAL 
BOAT PILOT. 

The most important is a thorough knowledge of 
the river, its channel and its obstructions such as 
islands, bars, rocks and reefs. Of this I had ac- 
quired a knowledge when returning home on the 
hurricane roof in packet boats, while other young 
men spent their time and money playing cards. Fre- 
quently, the Captain and Pilot would also take me 
into the pilot house on the packet boat and point out 
to me where the dangerous bars or reefs encroached 
on the channel. In these ways I fitted myself for a 
pilot and escaped the knowledge of the gamblers' 
tricks which ruined so many young men. 

Other necessary knowledge was the draft of 
water at different stages of the rivers, how to land 
boats in cases of fog or storm, and how to manage 
the crew of from 10 to 24 hands so as to have their 
respect and insure obedience to your orders. I have 
never come in contact with any business that had a 
tendency to degenerate the good, and develop the 
bad, in human nature more than that of a crew of 
flat boatmen shut up from one to six weeks on a pair 
of coal boats with a cargo of coal for Cincinnati, 
Louisville, New Orleans or intermediate ppints. In 
good weather the crew divided into three watches, 
three hours on duty and six off. About all they had 
to do while off duty was to eat and sleep, and it re- 
quired all the pilot could do to prevent them from 
quarreling over some trivial matter. His only 
means of maintaining authority was that of paying 
off the unruly man and setting him ashore, paying 
him in proportions to the distance. It also fre* 



54 Memoik and Personal Becollection. 

quently happened that we were caught in a storm 
and a sudden rise in the river, making it unsafe to 
turn out until the river would fall ; this sometimes 
kept us tied up for a week or ten days and the crew 
would have nothing to do but eat or sleep or prowl 
around on the shore. 

There were also personal qualifications neces- 
sary for a successful pilot, and they occur to me in 
their order as intelligence, integrity, industry and 
confidence in your own judgment. I have never been 
conversant with, or come in contact with, any pro- 
fession or business where it required these traits in 
a higher degree than in the old time flat boatman, 
especially that of a Coal Boat Pilot. 

One of the peculiarities of the fiat boat pilots 
was that in case they met with an accident, or lost a 
boat, they not only lost the confidence of their em- 
ployers, but also confidence in themselves, and it was 
rare to find a pilot who had confidence enough in 
himself to pilot a pair of boats in which he had his 
own money invested as owner or part owner. As I 
never lost a boat, I do not know what effect a loss 
would have had on my own nerves, but I never had 
any more confidence in my own judgment than when 
on a pair of flat boats in which I was financially in- 
terested. One prominent pilot took fifty pairs of 
boats for one firm in ten years safely to market, and 
they made him a present of a $150.00 gold watch and 
chain. On the next trip he sunk one of his boats at 
Baker's Island, about fifty miles below Pittsburgh. 
The boats were 140 x 20 feet, drawing six feet. This 
one accident in ten years so completely unnerved the 
man that he lost confidence in himself, took sick from 
worry over his misfortune and died shortly after- 
wards, maintaining that it was the increased size of 
the boats that caused him to lose one, and yet the 
size of boats increased until they carried nearly 
double the quantity of coal that his contained. The 



Mem oik and Pbesonal Becollection. 



55 



first pair of boats I piloted had 10,000 bushels and 
the last 70,000 bushels. Another famous old pilot 
who for twenty years safely took all his boats to 
market, on losing one boat lost confidence in himself 
and he dropped out of the profession. 

In the case of partnership, usually one of the 
partners was a pilot, and if, as sometimes happened, 
he stuck or lost one or both of the boats, the result 
was a bankrupt firm and a degraded pilot. 

In 1864, quite a large number of flat boat opera- 
tors and pilots became owners of tow boats, and I 
am told that the flat boat pilots made the best tow 
boat pilots. 




56 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

Chapter 6 

TRAITS OF THE EARLY FLAT BOAT PILOTS. 



Some Early River Characters and Incidents. 

I have never met a more noble and generous 
type of manhood than the old-time river flat-boat- 
man. He was a typical character in his day. I do 
not know that I have ever seen his prototype in any 
other profession. The nearest approach to him is 
the oil producer. Such were the variety of his traits 
that it would take too much space to fully describe 
the old-time ' ' Fresh Water Tars ' ', but I will men- 
tion a few of their traits, with a few incidents that 
occurred in the early river days. 

They were as rough as the business they fol- 
lowed, yet when at home and among ladies, they 
could be perfect Chesterfields. This trait in their 
character shone out to the best advantage when, as 
sometimes happened, a lady would come on board 
and ask the privilege of riding down the river 100 
miles or more — woe-betide the man of that crew of 
five to twenty men that would dare to have offered 
that lady an indignity while thus at the mercy of 
some of the roughest characters that could be found 
anywhere. 

The coal boat pilot having to depend upon his 
reputation as a boatman, soon acquired the art of 
manufacturing a reputation, not unlike the pedigree 
of fast horses and fancy stock are made. This al- 
ways brought into play the bragging qualifications 
which was seen to the best advantage on the eve of a 
coal boat rise in the river, or on the wharf as they 
watched the river rising, or as he, with his trouser 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 57 

legs tucked inside the red top of his boots and long 
pilot cloth overcoat reaching to his heels, chewing 
tobacco after the manner of a cow chewing her cud, 
his shirt bosom spattered with tobacco juice, strut- 
ting the staging of his boats with the air : " I am 
monarch of all I survey", you have a small idea of 
the old-time coal boatman. This naturally de- 
veloped many eccentric characters. They were sel- 
dom known by their proper names, but each one had 
some distinguishing title such as " Black Hawk", 
"Old Rock", "Mike Fink", etc. This brought the 
inventive genius into play so that the pilot had to in- 
vent some wonderful exploits with which to garnish 
his latest trips. He must not only know how to in- 
vent a good story, but know how to tell it to good ad- 
vantage, for while the old riverman expected every 
one else to believe his story, he was the greatest 
skeptic himself and never took any stock in the other 
fellow's story. 

There was an eccentric old Irishman by the 
name of Pat Conley that was a type of the old river- 
man. He piloted from Pittsburgh to New Orleans, 
and always carried two large anchors to use in case 
he stuck his boats on a sand-bar. When ordering 
his men to cast his anchors overboard he would cry 
out "Cast over Caleb", and if he does not hold them 
throw over Joshua (as he called them). Pat, on one 
occasion, told his crew to pull off their shoes and go 
to bed and get a good night's sleep, saying the river 
was good and he would not need them, to pull the 
boats off the bars. When the men all got sound 
asleep Pat gave a yell, calling out "Oars", the 
signal for the men to rush out on the staging which 
he had sprinkled over with hot coals while they were 
asleep. The night air was blue with sounds more 
emphatic than polite, from the men on whom he 
practiced the joke. Another occasion, Pat was tied 
up at shore in a storm. His men tired of their fare 



58 Memoir and Pebsonal Recollection. 

and stole a calf and killed it. The next day, after 
they had cut loose, the farmer missed his calf, and 
suspecting the boatmen, took a skifr and a constable 
and started after them. Pat, seeing them coming, 
knew what they were after and slipping down into 
the shanty, put the calf in bed and pulled on a pair 
of boots on its hind legs, covering the rest with a 
bed quilt. When the farmer came on board he ac- 
costed Pat with: ''How are you getting along V 
"Oh, poor enough", says Pat, "One of my men died 
last night with the smallpox — will you come down 
and see him?" This ended the search for the calf. 

Another incident, to which I was a party, will 
show that beneath a rough exterior there flowed 
through the hearts of some of those old time flat 
boatmen, the current of the most generous impulses 
that ever have given this sin-darkened earth its 
purest rays of sunshine and beauty. The following 
incident illustrates the sympathetic trait in the old- 
time river flat boatmen. 

On a trip in the winter of 1853, seven pairs of 
boats were compelled to tie up at Buck-Hill Bottom, 
W. Va., until river was safe to proceed. This 
greatly added to the difficulty of maintaining har- 
mony among crews of fifteen to twenty men shut up 
on flat boats for a week and frequently put pilots to 
their wits' end to prevent mutiny among themi 
There were always some one among the crew who 
would go ashore and prowl around among the na- 
tives and learn the condition and habits of the peo- 
ple. One of my own crew in his prowling found an 
old man and seven children which he called his stair 
steps, on account of there being two years to a day 
between their ages, the youngest 's head reaching the 
shoulder of the next eldest, a fact which the old man 
said never happened before and never would again. 
What excited the sympathy of the prowler was the old 
man and seven children shut up in a little one-story 



Memoib and Personal Eecollection. 59 

shanty 12 x 16 feet with no garret, a wooden chim- 
ney, two small windows and door closely shut for 
fear the rough flat boatmen lying along the shore 
would loot his house and carry off his darlings. 
That the old man was not alone in his fears will ap- 
pear a little farther on in my story. The next pair 
of boats to mine had l i Billy M. ' ' for pilot and he and 
I were called Methodists, but neither of us had 
learned what John Wesley had said God had raised 
up the Methodists to do. On hearing the prowler's 
story, we decided to visit the shanty and see if it was 
true. We rapped at the door, which the old man 
nervously opened and . invited us in. In a few 
moments we learned that the prowler had told us a 
very small part of his great misfortune. He had 
only a peck of corn meal in his house. 

We found that twenty-five years before this 
man, whose name was Ash, owned one of the best 
farms in Allegheny County, a mile above where I 
lived ; today it is a suburb of McKeesport, Pa. Sell- 
ing it, he bought an acre of ground at the " point* ' in 
Pittsburgh, between Monongahela and Allegheny 
rivers and built a number of houses, some of which 
are standing today. Selling these, he bought Seven 
Mile Island, worth millions of dollars today. Sell- 
ing this, he bought Middle Island, one of the finest 
Islands on the Ohio river. After getting it into a 
good state of cultivation, covered with fine fruit 
trees, and with bright prospects for a successful 
life, Aaron Burr 's heirs came along and laid claim to 
the island under the U. S. Government land grant 
acts; and after live years litigation he was left 
penniless. His wife broken down over the long 
struggle died, leaving him with his seven stair steps 
to contend against the unequal struggle. We also 
found he had two brothers-in-law and two sisters-in- 
law who lived across the river from where I lived, 
who owned one of the best farms in Allegheny 



60 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

County, and in addition to being old bachelors and 
old maids were known for their generous and liberal 
disposition to help the poor. 

Billy M. and I felt all we would have to do was 
to go home and tell Uncle Johnny and Aunt 
Margaret the condition in which we found their sis- 
ter 's children, but then it would be two weeks before 
we would get home, and we could not leave without 
making some effort to relieve their immediate neces- 
sities. At the same time there was a large pair of 
boats with a crew of 21 "Mackerel Smashers" (A 
"Mackerel Smasher" was an Irish Catholic loyal to 
his creed, not eating meat on Friday, and boat 
owners had to furnish a barrel of mackerel. While 
the Protestants dubbed these "Mackerel Smashers" 
they themselves were not averse to the variety of 
switching off one day of the seven from pork and 
corned beef to fish). We feared if these "Mackerel 
Smashers" found out the defenseless condition of 
the old man and his stair steps they might perpe- 
trate some indignity on them. 

There was also among my crew one named 
"Andrew Jackson Lynn" who was a noted singer 
and if his voice had been cultivated might have been 
as distinguished a singer as Jenny Lind. After de- 
ciding he would take the chances on the "Mackerel 
Smashers", Billy and I turned our attention on 
Jackson. We knew he had been recently converted, 
but would he sing songs for us on Sunday? We 
thought such a generous act as that of relieving the 
old man and his darlings warranted this little breach 
of the Fourth Commandment. We also knew if it 
was known that he would sing, the crews of the en- 
tire seven pair of boats would rush to my boats. 
After considerable urging, he said he would sing for 
us but did not say what he would sing. As a signal 
for the other crews, we had him take his position on 
the table (two planks 18 inches wide, 30 feet long, 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 61 

stretched across boat, on which we ate our meals), 
and sing one of his favorite revival melodies. In a 
few minutes there were over 100 men on my boats, all 
intently interested in hearing Andrew Jackson give 
them a song service. The Pilot of the New Orleans 
boat and his entire crew of Mackerel Smashers were 
on hand. We all expected to hear him strike up, 
"Way down upon the Suwanee River" or some 
popular song, when to the dismay of Billy and my- 
self he struck up "Wrestling Jacob" (Charles Wes- 
ley's favorite hymn, page 460 of Methodist 
Hymnal). 

i i Come, thou Traveler unknown, 
Whom still I hold but cannot see ; 

My company before is gone, 
And I am left alone with thee ; 

With thee all night I mean to stay, 

And wrestle till the break of day. 

I need not tell thee who I am, 

My sin and misery declare ; 
Thyself has called me by name ; 

Look on thy hands and read it there, 
But who, I ask thee, who art thou? 
Tell me thy name, and tell me now. 

In vain thou strugglest to get free ; 

I never will unloose my hold ; 
Art thou the man that died for me? 

The secret of thy love unfold ; 
Wrestling, I will not let thee go, 
Till I thy name, thy nature know ' '. 

Billy and I sat side by side looking down at our 
feet, expecting every minute Charley Ma, the 
Mackerel Smashers' pilot, would sing out: "Corey, 
is this a Methodist Revival meeting you have sprung 
on us?" On raising my eyes, and looking over the 



62 Memoir and Personal Eecollection. 

crowd, I saw some of the "Mackerel Smashers' ' 
brushing away a tear. 

As Andrew Jackson stepped down off the table, 
I told Billy to tell them the object of the meeting; he 
said: "No, you tell them". I stood up and re- 
hashed the story of the old man's trouble, adding 
that Billy and I thought we all could spare him some 
grub, to tide him over the winter, — that I would give 
him a ham, some hard tack, and coffee and sugar ;. 
that Billy would give him a shoulder, and some tea 
and rice. Pilot Charley Mc. springing to his feet 
said: "Corey, you and Bill don't intend to let your- 
selves off as easy as that, do you?" "I will tell you 
what Charley Mc. and his Mackerel Smashers will 
do, — I will pay $5.00 for myself, put up $5.00 for my 
seconds and $1.00 each day for my Mackerel 
Smashers. (My cook, a young boy, sang out : ' ' That 
is the talk"). That generous hearted man com- 
mitted suicide that summer) . I replied that I would 
do the same and in a few moments $143.00 was con- 
tributed, the pilots putting up for their crews. Each 
of us took some extra provisions which could be 
spared. We went up to the old shanty, Charley Mc. 
and his Mackerel Smashers in the lead, and entering 
the open door he said : ' ' Mr. Ash, we have come to 
help you out of a tight place. Here is $31.00 for me 
and my crew ; we have brought you some grub that 
will keep you from starving". Laying down a ham, 
a few mackerel, tea, coffee, rice, and sugar, then 
added: "Here boys, come shake hands with this old 
man and his stair steps. ' ' We all followed suite 
and it is safe to say that the old man besides feeling 
happy over his immediate wants being relieved and 
money and provisions given him, felt a deep feeling 
of gratitude towards the men on account of whom he 
had been afraid to let his children go out of doors. 
The next morning when we swung out and started on 



Memoik and Personal Recollection. 63 

our way, the entire village gave us a hearty send-off, 
waving handkerchiefs as long as we were in sight. 

When I got home I visited the brothers and sis- 
ters-in-law of Mr. Ash and told them the condition 
in which their sister's children were. I was never 
more surprised as Aunt Margaret spoke up and 
said: "Yes, Ash is reaping the fruit of his own 
stubbornness. My sister and all of us remonstrated 
with him when he sold his farm at Crooked Run, 
tried to persuade him not to sell his Pittsburgh 
houses, and later not to sell Seven Mile Island. He 
paid no heed to either our advice or the pleadings of 
his wife. As long as our sister lived, we sent her 
money to help her out, but since her death, we left 
Ash reap the fruit of his own stubbornness". Her 
brother, Uncle Johnny, endorsed what his sister 
said, adding he had no sympathy for Ash. I kept 
tab on Mr. Ash for awhile. His oldest daughter 
married and he moved down to Hanging Rock after 
which I have not heard of him. 



64 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

Chapter 7 

EARLY COAL TRADE ON THE MONONGA- 

HELA, YOUGHIOGHENY, OHIO AND 

MISSISSIPPI RIVERS. 



Method of Mining and Transporting. 

When my father and Uncle Moses Corey moved 
to Port Perry, April 1st, 1840, to build No. 2 Lock 
and Dam across the Monongahela River, there were 
but three coal pits, with inclines from the pit mouth 
to the river tipple. 

One of these located about three hundred yards 
above No. 2 Lock and Dam on what was known as 
the Col. W. L. Miller farm at Port Perry. This coal 
pit was opened up in 1835. The other coal bank, a 
mile above that was under the farm of John Gill. 
The third was opened across the river from Mc- 
Keesport under the farm of David Collins. There 
were two other coal pits opened on the Colonel Mil- 
ler farm in 1845. 

A coal pit, or a coal bank (as they were called 
then) or two, had been opened up opposite McKees- 
port by Caleb Edmundson & Brothers, as early as 
1830 ; also one by Col. Neel & Sons, as early as 1837. 
The early river coal business was a primitive affair. 
A farmer having one or more sons of his own, or if 
no sons, induce others to go into partnership with 
him, would open up a pit under his farm and build 
an incline to the river with a tipple. They would 
employ from five to twenty-five miners digging coal, 
transferring it over the incline and tippling it into a 
flat boat. In some cases the coal was hauled from 
primitive coal banks by 1, 2, 3 and 4 horse teams and 
loaded into small Joe boats 50 to 60 feet in length by 



Mem oik and Personal Recollection. 65 

16 feet in width. They were loaded two and three 
i'eet deep, with 1,000 to 3,000 bushels of coal which 
was floated down to Cincinnati and intermediate 
points. The boats cost, in 1845, when ready to float 
down to lower river markets from $5 to $1,500 a pair, 
in 1850, including coal, and were sold for one-half 
cash and balance in notes three and four months. 
The owner of the mine rarely ever shipped his own 
product but sold his boats to another party ; this re- 
sulted in frequent partnerships for a number of 
boats, in which two or three would put up the cash 
and give their notes for the balance, depending upon 
the price the coal sold for in the market for their 
profits. 

In 1840, the boats had increased in size to 75 x 
16 feet and were called French Creek boats, by rea- 
son of having them built on French Creek, near 
Franklin, Pa. (where I was born). 

In 1850, these flat boats had increased in size to 
170 x 25 feet, loaded 7 feet deep ; a pair of boats 
would contain 70,000 bushels of coal and be valued at 
from $5,000.00 to $6,000.00 per pair. To navigate 
these boats required a crew of 21 hands, pilot, second 
pilot and cook, and it required from 5 to 7 days to 
float to Louisville ; from 4 to 6 weeks to New Orleans, 
boats floating with the current. The dangers en- 
countered were sand and rock banks, islands, snags, 
and shores lined with sunken timbers. Fog and 
uark nights also added to the dangers and difficulties 
of this primitive mode of navigation. The equip- 
ment with which these earlier craft were furnished 
consisted of three steering oars on ends of boats, 
made from pine trees 60 feet long, one foot in diam- 
eter, tapering off to 4 inches, with an oar blade 18 
feet long, 30 inches wide and two or twq and one- 
half inches thick. This blade was mortised into the 
steering oar and by means of a V/ 2 inch iron pin was 
balanced upon a studding at each end of boat so that 



66 Memoik and Personal Becollection. 

it gave a leverage of 40 feet inside of the boat and 
38 feet including blade on the outside. An 8 foot 
staging extended across the forward and rear ends 
of the boats ; two to four men would overhand these 
oars, rush the blade through the water with such 
force that the course of the boats was changed. 
There were four oars or sweeps on sides of each boat 
which were used to pull the boats away from the 
shore or from the heads of the islands, sand bars, 
etc. This was where the skill of the old coal boat 
pilot came in play, and was his stock in trade around 
the bar rooms and boat stores where he would re- 
hash the exploits of the last trip. The two boats, 
(called a pair) were lashed together by means of 
ropes to the check posts, which were two feet in 
diameter, 10 feet long, mortised in a cross timber in 
center of boat 12 feet from ends of boats and braced 
to end and side gunnels before loading with coal. 
The check post got the name from being used to land 
and tie up the boats at market or in case of fog or 
wind storm on the way. One of the greatest, if not 
the greatest, dangers encountered in piloting a pair 
of large flat boats was in making a landing. This 
was done by four of the crew coiling several yards 
of one and three quarter inch manilla rope in a skiff 
row to the shore and tie to a tree. The pilot would 
take one turn around inside post and several turns 
around the other check post, sit down and let from 
one to three hundred yards pass under his arm 
around the post, stopping the boats. This required 
as great skill and judgment as any other require- 
ments of a good pilot, and for lack of ability to do it, 
a great many boats and lives were lost. The danger 
attending the checking of a pair of loaded coal boats 
was very trying on a pilot's nerve. 

J. M. and J. H. Peterson, the twin brothers, 
were school mates of J. B. Corey and were two of 




j. m. petp:rsox, 

Twin Brother of 
John H. Peterson. 

(Pages 66-67.) 




JOHN H. PETERSON. 

Cousin by Marriage, 

and 

Co-partner of J. B. Corey. 

1861. 

(Pages 66-67.) 



Memoir and Personal Eecollection. 67 

the forty-niners who spent seven years digging for 
gold in and around Sacramento City, California. 

Coming home in 1856, they engaged in the New 
Orleans coal trade — James M. as one of the firm of 
Herron, Peterson & Co., and John H. as one of the 
firm of J. B. Corey & Co. 

The Pittsburgh coal companies engaged in the 
New Orleans trade at the time of the secession of the 
Southern States left their coal in charge of these two 
young men, who discharged their trust so faithfully 
as to ever after retain the respect of those who en- 
trusted their property to their care. 




68 Memoib and Personal Recollection. 



Chapter 8 

FIRST PARTNERSHIP IN RIVER COAL 
BUSINESS. 

In 1856, I entered into a partnership with John 
H. Peterson, whose picture is shown opposite, and 
his brother-in-law, Mark Borland. We each put up 
$500.00 or a total of $1,500, and gave our notes for 
$1,800. On the first trip we struck a good market, 
sold our boats at Memphis, Tenn. at 45 cents a barreL 
and cleared $2,200.00. 

Stranded in Louisville. 

The success of our first venture turned our 
heads and we invested in two more pair of boats. 
In 1857, I piloted one of the pairs to Louisville, and 
hired a pilot for the other pair. At Louisville, we 
had difficulty in selling our coal. We could not give 
it away, so to speak, nor had we money to pay our 
crews. This was the time of the panic, in which 
nearly all the wild cat banks failed. Pittsburgh 
money would not pass outside of Pennsylvania; 
Louisville money outside of Louisville or New Or- 
leans bank notes outside of New Orleans. But here 
my good luck on the river, resulting from a faithful 
discharge of trusts imposed upon me, even in boy- 
hood days, came to my aid and I believe my little suc- 
cess in life is due to the principles instilled into me 
by my sainted mother. 

Assistance came in this way : — In my boyhood 
days, as a flat boatman, it was my custom to stop 
over at New Orleans the last trip in the season and 
hire to pump a pair of boats at the Willow Grove, 
which were laid up to wait until there was a demand 
for them, there generally being more coal in the 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 69 

market than could be sold, except to parties buying 
on speculation. There would be 100 or more pairs 
of coal boats loaded with coal lying at the Willow 
Grove, New Orleans, waiting for the market that 
would make it possible to sell them at a profit. Fre- 
quently this resulted in little fortunes from a sudden 
and big demand for the coal. Each pair of boats re- 
quired a pumper to keep the water that leaked into 
them from filling up and sinking the boats. 

I was walking down the street in Louisville, not 
knowing where I could find money to pay off the 
crews, who were urgent in their demands for their 
money. As I passed a coal office on the wharf I 
overheard some loud talking between one of the coal 
men and his crews, who were disputing about the 
wages they were to receive. The men were claiming 
they were promised more money than the man was 
willing to pay. I recognized the voice of John Wat- 
son, the man for whom I pumped boats in New Or- 
leans for several years before. He had come to 
Louisville to see if he could get his boats over the 
falls or through the canal, there not being water 
sufficient to go on with the boats. The men claimed 
$4.00 each, more than they were entitled to, hence 
the dispute. 

As I stopped at the office door, Mr. Watson 
recognized his boy-pumper reaching out his hand 
and saying : ' ' Jim, how are you V* I replied : " I am 
well, but in the tightest place I have been since I 
pumped for you ' '. He replied : ' * I have only money 
enough to pay off my eight crews, but if you can 
find any one who will lend you the money, I will en- 
dorse your note". Just then a Steamboat Captain, 
named Smith, stepped up with: "John Watson, T 
have $1,100.00 here of Louisville money. I want you 
to take it and give me your check on Pittsburgh — my 
money will not pass up there and I am going up to 
Pittsburgh this trip". Watson said: "Give it to 



70 Memoir and Personal Eecollection. 

Jim Corey, and take his check", when I said: "Mr. 
Watson, I have no money in the bank to check on ; 
all our money is in our two boats". Mr. Watson an- 
swered : ' ' Captain, give the money to Jim, and take 
his check to Jim Watson when you get to Pittsburgh, 
and tell him to cash it ; that it is the check of the boy- 
pumper who took such good care of the boats we en- 
trusted him with, and I order him to pay it ' '. I took 
the money, it being the exact amount I needed to pay 
my two crews, and it lifted me and my partner out 
of the tightest place we had ever been in up until 
that time. 

John Hereon Loans us Money. 

I said I would have Peterson return to Pitts- 
burgh and see if we could not raise the $1,100, on a 
note to meet the check, so I had Peterson go up to 
Pittsburgh to see another friend of mine, old Mr. 
John Herron and remind him of his promise to help 
m( , and ask him to take our note and let us have the 
money, which he did. In narrative of my boyhood 
days, I have mentioned my introduction to Mr. 
Herron through the finding of his pocketbook with a 
large sum of money. In a short time we had enough 
water to go over the falls and on to New Orleans. 

I went ahead to try to sell the boats, but such 
was the effect of the panic on business that we found 
no market along the river nor at New Orleans. 

The panic of 1857, which followed, involved the 
greater number of the Coal Companys in bank- 
ruptcy. They were forced to sell their coal at loss 
in order to raise the money to pay off their pilots 
and crews, and meet their notes. Here as I have 
always believed in answer to my Mother's prayers, 
my good fortune seemed to carry me through the 
tight place I was in. Standing on the pavement out- 
side the Hotel a stranger to whom I had been intro- 



Memoie and Peksonal Becollection. 71 

dueed the day before, said to me: " Young man you 
seem to be in trouble ' '. I replied : ' ' Mr. Vandine, 
indeed I am in trouble ' '. " What is your trouble f ' ' 
I replied: "We have two pair of boats loaded with 
coal that will be here in a few days, and it will take 
$2,000 to pay off the crews, and we have three notes 
for $600 each, two of them over due and one three 
weeks to run, and we owe $400 at Louisville for pro- 
visions for our crews. Taking a card out of his 
pocket and with a pencil he wrote : "Due A. Vandine, 
$2,200 ' ', handing it to me to sign saying: "I will 
furnish you with money to pay off your crews ' \ I 
signed the note and he wrote me a check on the St. 
Charles Bank of New Orleans for $2,200. I went 
around to the bank throwing my check down, the 
Teller took a little shovel and shoveled me out $1,800 
in gold and 400 silver dollars. I said: "I cannot 
take that". He said: "Why can you not take it?" 
I said: "I am going home on a steam boat and it is 
too much money for me to carry on my person, and if 
I give it to the clerk of the boat, he will get off at the 
first wood yard". He said: "You will take that or 
nothing". I said :" give me back my check", and 
took it back, and Mr. Vandine went with me to the 
bank and persuaded them to give me a New York 
Draft for $1,800, and I took the 400 silver dollars and 
paid our provision bill at Louisville, the merchant 
refused to accept the silver until told it was that or 
nothing, the Louisville and New Orleans Banks re- 
fusing to receive silver on deposit ; yet we had no 
silver in Pittsburgh to deposit. This let me out of a 
very tight place and resulted in my acquaintance 
with my best and life long friend, the Hon. Thomas 
Mellon, which will be related in another chapter. 

Beaching home, I went to Uncle Moses Corey, 
to whom we had given the notes for the coal. Uncle 
was lying sick in bed. On asking him where the 
notes were and telling him I wanted to pay them, 



72 Memoik and Personal Recollection. 

instead of answering me he called out: "Lydia, 
Lydia! Jim says lie has money enough to pay off 
them notes". They had heard of our losing one 
boat, and of the bad state of the market, and did not 
think we would have money to pay our notes, and 
besides, Uncle Moses was financially embarrassed. 
He turned to me and said that "Old Mortgage 
Bond Tom Mellon' ' corner Fifth and Wylie Ave- 
nues had discounted them for him and I would have 
to go to his office in the city to get them. 

I started for the city, and meeting an acquaint- 
ance who asked me what I was going to do, I told 
him I was going to pay off our notes and did not 
know what we would do until Peterson came home. 
He replied: "You are a fool! If I owed Tom Mellon 
that money and he got it before I was ready to give 
it to him he would know it". I replied that when 
we gave the notes to Uncle Moses we had expected 
to meet them when due, but the panic had delayed 
us and I intended to pay them as soon as I reached 
Mr. Mellon 's office. He however told me: "You 
are a bigger fool than I thought you were ' \ 

First Acquaintance With Thomas Mellon. 

I reached Mr. Mellon 's office at 8.00 A. M. and 
found a line of clients reaching into the third room, 
awaiting their turn. On the wall was a small frame 
with the following notice in it : — 

1st. Your business at once. 
2nd. The truth, the whole truth and noth- 
ing but the truth. 
3rd. Attention, and go. 

I reached his desk at 12.30. His wife, who had 
been waiting, sprang to her feet and said: "I guess 
it is my turn now:" Mr. Mellon said, "What do you 
want", when she said "I want $20.00" and handing 




HON. THOMAS ilELLON. 
1857. 
An Affectionate Son. Earnest 
Scholar, Skillful Lawyer, Faith- 
ful Husband, Kind Father, 
Eminent Jurist, Good Cit- 
izen, Loyal Friend, and 
"a man for a' that." 
(See page 7 2-226.) 



Memoir and Personal Becollection. 73 

it to her he turned his eyes on me. "Is your name 
"Mr. Mortgage Bond Tom Mellon?" I asked: He 
said, i i My name is Thomas Mellon ' ', and I said ' ' Mr. 
Mellon, you have three notes of Peterson and Corey, 
one four weeks overdue, one two weeks overdue and 
one has yet two weeks to run. I want to pay them 
off". On his taking the notes from a file of papers in 
his desk I handed him the money and asked him how 
much interest was due, when he replied, ' i I will not 
charge you anything for overdue interest; you coal 
men have had a hard time to pull through: You sit 
down there until I get through and I want to ask you 
about the state of things." After quickly getting 
through with his other clients he turned around and 
after asking me all about our trip and the conditions 
in the southern market, he said, ' ' If you see a chance 
to make anything, and need help, come and see me 
and I may be able to assist you. ' ' When I went home 
and showed Uncle Moses I had paid the notes, he) 
asked me how much Mr. Mellon had charged me for 
overdue interest. I told him he had not charged me 
anything, when Uncle said "The dammed old coon; 
he would have made me pay him not less than $25. ' ' 
but I told him he was the nicest man I had ever met, 
and that he told me if I saw a chance to make any- 
thing to come back and he would assist me. ' ' 

In a few weeks business began to revive in New 
Orleans and we were able to sell our pair of boats 
in New Orleans at a price that gave us money 
enough to pay off all our debts, but the capital we 
had invested was all used up but about $300.00 
apiece, and we considered ourselves a broken firm. 

Another trip in 1857 encountered a cyclone. 
Uncle Moses Corey had loaded two more pairs of 
boats, but owing to the stagnation in business could 
not sell them. Mr. George Jones, who kept the boat 
store advised me and Peterson to buy them : I told 
him we had only $600. and that would not pay half 



74 Memoie and Personal Becollection. 

cash, which was the terms under which the coal was 
sold. Mr. Jones suggested that Uncle Moses keep 
a one third interest and take our notes for the 
balance, which arrangement we made. 

A rise in the river came and we started out the 
two pair of boats. One pilot landed at the Point to 
allow the river to fall some, it being higher than we 
liked to start, but the other pilot, Humberson, in- 
sisted on going ahead and I consented and went with 
him, intending to take a steamboat at Wheeling and 
go ahead and try to sell the boats. There were four 
pairs of boats in sight. We were all floating pleas- 
antly along, some of our Irish boatmen singing some 
of St. Patrick's Irish songs and the weather had 
been beautiful. At nine o'clock at night, when we 
were not expecting it, a regular cyclone struck us, 
sinking the other three pair of boats, one of our 
boats, and drowning six hands belonging to one of 
the other boats. I succeeded in saving one boat and 
had the crew not gotten scared we could have saved 
both boats, I was hurt by the cable flying off check 
post, and when I came back to Pittsburgh next day 
I read in the Pittsburgh papers an account of my 
own drowning, along with all that did not get away 
in the skiff s. The saving of the one boat was due to 
the pluck of Jake Mengis, a schoolmate, who did not 
lose his head. As a token of my gratitude I made 
him a pilot, which was done at the cost of two pair 
of boats before I found he had not the knowledge 
and experience to fit him for a pilot. Jordan Fritz 
was one of the crew, and the only one of the entire 
crew besides myself that is alive to-day. I am sorry 
to say Jordan is now one of Braddock's many 
saloon keepers. I recently told him I was sorry to 
see one of the old Port Perry boys engaged in mak- 
ing drunkards, when he apologized by saying he had 
to do that to save his wife's property, which she 
had inherited with a debt against it. 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 75 

I Meet John Harper, Cashier. 

In April, 1858, we had three pair of boats at New 
Orleans for which we had given our notes in pay- 
ment; these notes fell due May 1st. If we sold our 
coal to meet them we would not make a cent, while if 
we could hold them until fall we could make a nice 
sum of money. While thinking it over, I recalled 
how the boys and girls in the Second Presbyterian 
Church, ten years before, every Sunday as I entered 
the church would sing out "Here comes Johnny 
Snyder, because my mother made my collars extend 
down over my shoulders like his, and how quickly I 
had had mine cut down when I learned the object of 
their fun and the cause. I decided I would go up to 
the bank and ask "Johnny Snyder" to lend me the 
money : Walking up and down past the bank on the 
opposite side of the street until I screwed up suf- 
ficient courage to venture in and see if I could get the 
money, I finally went in and going up to the Teller 
asked him if Mr. Snyder was in: He said, "Yes; 
what do you want of him?" and I replied "I want 
to borrow $5,000.00 ' \ Taking me for a greenhorn, he 
said "Mr. Snyder is busy, step across into the 
Cashier 's room and Mr. Harper will tell you whether 
they will lend you the money. I stepped into Mr. 
Harper's room and he also taking me for a green- 
horn gruffly said: "What are you after?" I said: 
"Mr. Harper, I want to borrow $5,000.00" when he 
quickly asked: "What do you want of $5,000.00", 
when I told him: "We have three pair of boats for 
which we gave our notes, now lying at New Orleans. 
The notes will mature in less than a month ; if we sell 
the coal now we will not make a cent, while if we can 
hold them until fall we will make some money. "Who 
is your endorser," he asked, and I replied "Mort- 
gage Bond Tom Mellon" when he said "Whom do 
you mean by i Mortgage Bond Tom Mellon ' do you 



76 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

mean Thomas Mellon the Lawyer." "Yes, I think 
that is his name, ' ' I answered, and Mr. Harper said 
"His name is Thomas Mellon; if he will endorse 
your note we will let yon have the money. ' ' I asked 
Mr. Harper to please make me out a note, which he 
did, and no young man ever ran from the Old Bank 
of Pittsburgh to the corner of Wylie Avenue in less 
time than I did, on the promise of Mr. Mellon that if 
I saw a chance to make anything for me to come back 
and maybe he could help me, and yet I had not seen 
or spoken to him since that day. Reaching his office 
I had to wait until he was through with his morning 
clients, when I stepped up to his desk, and laying 
down the note I reminded him of his request and pro- 
mise to help me: Looking at the note, he scratched 
his head and asked me what my hopes were of meet- 
ing the note at maturity. I told him the price of 
coal always advanced in the fall and we would sell 
in time to pay the note before it fell due. Scratching 
his head again, he signed the note and in less time 
to run down hill than it took to run up, I was back 
with the endorsed note and Mr. Harper placed the 
money to our credit. We paid off the notes we had 
given for the coal, and before the note given Mr. 
Harper became due we had sold our coal and 
cleared over $15,000.00 — and yet skeptics sneer at 
a faith that removes mountains! 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 77 

Chapter 9 

"J. B. COREY & CO." ORGANIZED. 

In 1859, 1 persuaded four others to join me in or- 
ganizing the firm of " J. B. Corey & Co." composed 
of Honorable Thomas Mellon, George M. Bowman, 
David Shaw, John H. Peterson and J. B. Corey. I 
was elected President of the Company, George M. 
Bowman the Bookkeeper, Judge Mellon our Attor- 
ney and John H. Peterson our agent at New Or- 
leans. 

We were one of the largest coal companies in 
the New Orleans trade. For two years our expe- 
rience was not very favorable. Loss of coal in tran- 
sit and at market, along with the depressed state of 
business owing to the threatened secession of the 
South, prevented paying any dividends on our 
stock. 

New Orleans Conditions in 1860. 

In 1860, when the southern secession com- 
menced to look serious, our Company decided that 
I had better go down and help Mr. Peterson, New 
Orleans Agent and one of our Firm, sell our coal. 
We were sending out five pair of boats and I 
piloted one pair as far as Louisville, where I took a 
steamer and went ahead, stopping off at Memphis, 
Vicksburg, Natchez, Bayousara and Baton Rouge. 
Jeff Davis came on the boat at Vicksburg, on his 
way to Baton Rouge to work up the secession of 
Louisiana. In trying to sell I only succeeded in 
trading one pair of the boats for a cargo of sugar at 
St. Mary's Plantation with a planter who was as 
anxious to dispose of his sugar as I was of selling 
our coal ; in making the trade I got 35c per barrel 



78 Memoir and Personal, Recollection. 

for the coal, being paid for same in sugar. We did 
not get rid of this sugar until after New Orleans 
was captured by General Butler. 

The first pair of our boats that came along were 
in charge of that noted old pilot, Thomas Murry, 
and both he and his crew were worried over the news 
of Louisiana seceding and keeping them all as 
prisoners of war. I went aboard the boats and went 
with him as far as Baton Rouge intending to see the 
boats landed at St. Mary's plantation., where I had 
traded them for a cargo of sugar. But both Murry 
and his crew insisted on my taking the Steam Boat 
and go ahead and provide money to pay them off, so 
that they could get away as soon as they reached 
New Orleans. So I started in the skiff for the 
Packet Boat just ready to cut loose at Wharf -Boat. 
It was Friday evening ; when I reached the Cabin of 
the boat, a scene presented itself which I never be- 
fore witnessed. From the forward deck to the 
Ladies' cabin were strung card tables, upon which 
were piles of gold and silver giving the Cabin of the 
boat the appearance of a bank ; and around the table 
were seated four members of the Louisiana Legis- 
lature; who had voted themselves this money to go 
to New Orleans to work up the secession of the state ; 
and on the turn of a card this gold and silver 
changed sides of the table. I took in the situation at 
a glance. I knew that a Northern man's life in that 
crowd was not worth the powder that would blow 
off his head. I went to the clerk of the boat and 
asked him if he had any births in a state room. He 
replied : ' ' Oh, yes, these fellows will not go to bed 
tonight". I said: "Give me an upper birth". The 
boat did not reach New Orleans until after midnight, 
but I lay in bed until 9 :00 A. M. to give the fire 
eaters time to get away when I got up and wended 
my way to the Louisiana Hotel ; where the coal men 
stopped. My partner, J. H. Peterson, who was 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 79 

married to my cousin, E. A. Corey, did not stop at 
the hotel but they were living in a house of their 
own ; and that my cousin, E. A. Corey (My partner's 
wife), had given birth to their first child (a boy) a 
few hours before I arrived at the Hotel. I also 
learned from J. M. Peterson (who represented Her- 
ron and Peterson) that he and J. H. P. (my partner) 
had formed a co-partnership with a New Orleans 
retailer, (by name of P. H. Williard) in hopes of 
selling coal enough to pay off the crews arriving. I 
told him that Thomas Murry and his crew were here 
and wanted to get away on the first boat. He said : 
1 ' Williard had charge of bank account and for me to 
go to the office and wait until he comes ' \ I went, 
and there was no one there but a colored woman and 
her boy about 7 years old ; she, giving a sigh of dis- 
tress, the boy throwing himself across her lap ex- 
cited my emotions. I asked her if she was waiting 
to see Mr. Williard! She said: "Yes, I am waiting 
to tell him what Dr. Jones will give him for me, and 
de boy, my dear Sambo ' \ Mr. Williard had allowed 
her to find a purchaser. I asked what time Mr. 
Williard came to his office and she said: "Massa 
Boyle, he come at ten o 'clock, Massa Peterson he 
come at eleven o'clock, Massa Williard he come at 
twelve o'clock". By this time my own mind was 
made up that J. B. Corey & Company would not 
constitute a part of that firm longer than I could ef- 
fect a dissolution. At home, on the banks of the 
Monongahela Eiver, I was in the habit of getting up 
at four and five o 'clock in the morning and seeing 
that the boats and tipple were in shape to begin work 
at 6 :00 A. M. I felt that if P. H. Williard & Com- 
pany could make money in that style of doing busi- 
ness, there must be a bonanza in the retail coal busi- 
ness in New Orleans, but when Mr. Williard came to 
the office and I found he could not furnish me with 
the $2,000 needed to pay off Murry 's crew, until he 



80 Mbmoik and Pebsonal Recollection. 

could go around and see how bis bank account stood, 
I began to think possibly I would have to look else- 
where for money to pay ofT my crews, which proved 
only too true. We never realized a cent for that 
pair of boats, but I took care that no more of J. B. 
Corey & Co. 's boats went to that firm. I had to 
again fall back on my friend, Vandine, whose pre- 
vious kindness to me has been mentioned in an earlier 
chapter, to provide money to pay off our crews, and 
left the same day for home, stopping over at Louis- 
ville on November 26th, 1860, where I read in a local 
paper the Billedgeville speech of Honorable A. H. 
Stephens opposing secession of Georgia. 

Ask Lincoln to make A. H. Stephens Seceetaey 
of Wak. 

Like a drowning man grasping a straw, and in 
the hope of preventing the secession of Louisiana 
until we could sell our coal, I wrote Abraham Lin- 
coln, President-Elect, at Springfield, 111., enclosing 
a copy of Mr. Stephens ' speech and urging him to 
tender Mr. Stephens the position of Secretary of 
War. I insisted that the planters, and business men 
of the South were as much opposed to secession as 
people of the North ; and I also insisted that tender- 
ing the position of Secretary of War to Mr. 
Stephens would strengthen the Union sentiment and 
prevent the secession of Louisiana and Georgia. In 
my letter, I said : ' ' I see you are going to appoint 
Simon Cameron, a stinking, pro-slavery, locofoco 
Democrat. He has been robbing the State of Penn- 
sylvania for years in selling it cordwood for the 
Portage road, measuring the same cord of wood over 
and over, (I had read this in the Pittsburgh Gazette 
and thought it must be true). On arriving home, I 
received a letter from Private Secretary, John Hay, 
saying Mr. Lincoln had received my letter, with Mr. 



Memoie and Personal Recollection. 81 

Stephens' speech, thanking me for the information 
I had sent him. 

I had also written Mr. Stephens the same day 
telling him of conditions in New Orleans; also that 
I had recommended him to President Lincoln for Sec- 
retary of War. I urged him to make his stand for 
the Union, unconditional, he having said that as 
Georgia went so he would go and I told him that 
meant secession. When he returned to Congress 
after the war I wrote him twice ; on the principle I 
have mentioned but he did not reply. I notice in 
Alexander Stephens ' history of this war that he pub- 
lishes a letter from Mr. Lincoln, dated November 30, 
1860, (Five days after I wrote him from Louisville), 
asking Mr. Stephens for a revised copy of his speech. 



82 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 



LAST RIVER TRIP BEFORE WAR OF 
SECESSION. 

First Tow of Coal on the Mississippi. 

While I was away on the trip just referred to, 
our company had employed a Captain Briggs, (who 
had built a side wheel tow boat) to tow seven pairs 
of boats to New Orleans. As he had stuck a similar 
number of boats on The Clusters for T. Jones & Co., 
I objected to letting him start with our boats, but the 
other members of the firm insisted on him taking the 
boats, and for me to go along and see that he took 
no unnecessary risks. I went with him and we got 
our boats safe to New Orleans, being the first tow of 
coal ever towed down the Mississippi. Captain 
Briggs was, however, convinced that a side wheel 
tow boat could never tow a fleet of coal to market 
without risk, and he never tried it again. I satisfied 
the largest coal operators with a stern wheel boat; 
it was practical, and it was adopted by W. H. 
Brown, Joseph Walton and others. 




PART THIRD 
Chapter 1 



liar nf % Sebellum. 



Northern Coal Business Ruined. 

The Southern States having seceded, all the 
coal of the northern men was confiscated. J. B. 
Corey & Co. were left a broken firm, $50,000 worse 
than nothing. Fortunately for us, Hon. Judge 
Mellon, one of the firm, was able to carry us 
through. J. H. Peterson, our New Orleans agent, 
was pressed into the rebel service and given charge 
of all the coal at Willow Grove. When they issued 
a requisition for a boat of coal, Peterson filled the 
order with coal of some other company and the day 
they issued the order for our first boat, Commodore 
Faragut and General Butler drove the rebel army 
out and we had our coal intact. General Butler tried 
to treat our coal as rebel spoils (mentioned in subse- 
quent chapter), but President Lincoln insisted the 
coal belonged to us, and at a great advance in price 
instead of being a bankrupt firm we had $200,000.00 
to divide — all in answer to prayer. We also 
had a controversy with General Butler over a cargo 
of sugar, to which reference is later made, which we 
finally succeeded in disposing of advantageously. I 
will conclude the difficulties relative to the coal and 
sugar in a subsequent chapter and give my expe- 
riences and reminiscences while in the Government 
employ during the War of the Rebellion. 

83 



84 Memoib and Personal Recollection. 

Chapter 2 

I TEY TO ENLIST. 

There being no coal business, I tried to enlist, 
but such was the rush of able-bodied men offering 
that I was rejected. I started for Washington to 
try for a clerkship to keep my teeth clear until Lin- 
coln's 75,000 three months' volunteers would crush 
the rebellion. I passed through Baltimore the day 
the Massachusetts regiment was fired upon. 

On reaching Washington, I applied to the Hon- 
J. K. Morehead, our Representative, to get me a 
clerkship in one of the Departments. He applied to 
W. H. Seward, Secretary of State, who said he was 
turning away applicants by the hundreds. General 
Morehead said: "Let us go around and see General 
Scott". 

Second Introduction to General Scott. 

It was noon hour. The General and his Private 
Clerk were all that were present. General More- 
head, in introducing me said : ' ' General Scott, Mr. 
Corey, one of my constituents, was in the coal busi- 
ness in New Orleans. He wants to get a position so 
that he can support himself and family until you can 
retake New Orleans and he gets back his coal". 
General Scott replied: "General Morehead, I am 
turning away applicants by the thousand". 

As he took me by the hand I said : ' ' General 
Scott, do you remember the day you went through 
the lock on the Monongahela River in 1847?" 
"Yes", he replied, "as well as if it was yesterday". 
"Do you remember the boy introduced to you as 
having learned the whole Book of St. John and eight 
chapters in Acts?" "Yes", he replied, "are you 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 



85 



that boy!" "And", I asked, "do you remember 
the twin girls you kissed ?" "Yes", the general 
said, "they were about that high!" I then said to 
him, "one of those twin girls is my wife; she is 
home on the banks of the Monongahela river and not 
a week's supply of provisions in the house. I am 
here and owe a week's board and not a cent of 
money in my pocket ' \ Holding on to my hand, the 
General said : ' ' William, take this order to Captain 
Beckwith to put J. B. Corey on his payroll at $50.00 
per month ; if he has no work for him to do, send 
him to Lieutenant Smith at the foot of G. Street, and 
let him put him to work issuing rations to the sol- 
diers ' \ No sweeter sound ever fell on my ears be- 
fore or since. 




86 Memoik and Personal Eecollection. 



Chapter 3 

ACQUAINTANCE WITH ABEAHAM LINCOLN 
—SIMON CAMERON— E. M. STANTON. 



Reminiscences of Civil War Days in Washington. 



Government Job at $50.00 per Month. 

Lieutenant Smith put me in charge of from 300 
to 500 laborers, whose duties were to unload army 
stores from vessels and fill requisitions of quarter- 
masters of regiments. My experiences as a pilot 
and operator of coal mines made me an effective 
roustabout clerk. It also brought me in almost 
daily contact with President Lincoln and his Cab- 
inet, and especially Secretary Cameron and Secre- 
tary Chase, who gave their personal attention to 
supplying the army assembling at Washington. 

I boarded at "Old Man Green's' ' noted board- 
ing house, where the assassination of Lincoln was 
plotted. It was the headquarters of the rebel sym- 
pathizers in Washington and Maryland Heights, 
many of them assembling here daily. Green had 
been the only auctioneer of the Capital, and boasted 
he had sold all the Presidents' household goods 
from John Quincy Adams down to James Buchanan. 
He was 80 years old and married to his first wife's 
sister, 20 years younger than himself. Mrs. Green 
was noted for her cooking, and kept one of the nicest 
private boarding houses in the city, the only draw- 
back being Old Man Green's strong sympathy for 
the rebels. 



Mem oik and Personal Recollection. 87 

Handling oe Army Supplies in Washington. 

At the foot of G Street there was a wharf boat 
about the length of a ship, which for years had been 
used to receive and ship freight from. When the 
War broke out, the Government took military pos- 
session of it, appointing the owners, Messrs. Morgan 
& Rinard, as majois in the army. 

On a strip of flat ground between the Canal and 
the Potomac, we built two other warehouses out of 
rough boards ; in these warehouses we stored our 
army supplies. When it became evident that the 
Civil War was not going to be a holiday sport, the 
Government made contract for a large stock of army 
supplies, requiring thirty or more additional ware- 
houses beside these two, but there was plenty of 
room to build alongside. In fact, there was no other 
ground on which to build them except to haul the 
goods up to the square in front of the President's 
mansion, which would have cost more than the ocean 
freight from New York City. 

One day, seeing President Lincoln, Secretaries 
Cameron and Chase, Col. Rucker and Major Morgan 
and others coming to the wharf, I knew something 
unusual was on hand. I went into my office and be- 
gan entering up the requisitions I had filled. Senator 
Baker of Oregon, who was playing soldier in the 
morning and Senator in the afternoon, had two 
Oregon Regiments camping on the wharf. He would 
retreat into the warehouse to escape the hot sun and 
always took a seat in my office where a railing sur- 
rounded my desk. 

This delegation came to go over the ques- 
tion of where to build additional warehouses. 
As soon as President Lincoln and the others came 
inside the office Major Morgan spoke up, saying: 
"The river overflows this bottom six feet in one 
night". Cameron on turning to Senator Baker, 



88 Memoik and Peksonal Recollection. 

asked him what he thought of it. Senator Baker an- 
swered by saying : * ' Mr. Corey, here is an Ohio and 
Mississippi River boatman ", and addressing me, he 
added: "What do you think of it, Mr. Corey ?" I 
replied that I would build them beside the other 
two. Colonel Rucker said: "Mr. Corey, what 
would you do if the river would overflow six feet in 
one night ! ' ' I replied : ' * CoL Rucker, I would do as 
we have done with the other two there, put the 
corned beef and pork barrels four tiers high. If that 
river rises six feet over that flat in one night, it will 
fall six feet the next day, and the water will not hurt 
the corned beef and pork". 

Cameron smacked his fist down on the railing 
and said: "That settles it. Colonel Rucker you 
have the warehouses built there. Mr. Corey, you 
fill them as you have the others ' \ I had put the 
corned beef in the bottom on account of the weight. 
In a short time we had nearly $3,000,000.00 worth of 
army supplies in the thirty odd warehouses. I had 
been cooking 300 barrels of corned beef a day for 
about a month, in 150 iron kettles, each holding one 
barrel. Unheading a barrel, we emptied it into a 
kettle, cooked it six hours, and put it back in the bar- 
rel and shipped it to Centerville. Jeff Davis in con- 
gratulating his soldiers on the victory of Bull Run, 
said the Northern vandals had been cooking meat 
for months and intended to have a Belshazzar feast 
— I am the man who had been doing the cooking. On 
Friday before the battle of Bull Run, Lieutenant 
Smith notified me that I had been promoted to take 
charge of a new depot of supplies at Centerville. I 
was not aware of the new depot, neither was I an ap- 
plicant, but the defeat of the Union army rendered 
the appointment void. 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 89 

Battle of Bull Run Demoralizes Washington. 

When our troops stampeded hatless, coatless, 
gunless, shoeless, panic-stricken soldiers filled up the 
city, and the transition of the fallen angels to perdi- 
tion alone describes the condition of Washington. 
For the next few days Simon Cameron and I, with 
my roustabouts, were all the government the city had 
until General G. B. McClelland came on Friday and 
restored order once more. If the earth had opened 
up and swallowed General Scott, he could not have 
more effectively disappeared from the scene. Presi- 
dent Lincoln was so completely dazed that if some of 
the rebel sympathizers (on Tuesday when the Cab- 
inet was down at the wharf boat arranging to trans- 
fer the Government to New York City), had laid their 
hands on Lincoln, saying: "You are my prisoner", 
he never would have turned the word, nor would 
there have been any resistance. 

Preparing to Burn our Army Supplies. 

On Tuesday, Colonel Burnside, with his two 
Ehode Island Regiments came across Chain-Bridge, 
they and Colonel Cochran's Sixty-ninth regiment, 
New York, being the first to come back with their 
guns. Lieutenant Smith and I stood watching them 
crossing into the city. It was pouring down rain, 
and they did not have any flag at their head. 
Lieutenant Smith, turning to me said : ' ' Corey, that 
is Beauregard's army as sure as hell. You have 
your men get some wood and shavings in each ware- 
house. If I send you word, you set fire to the ware- 
houses". If some one had come up and said to me : 
"Corey, Lieutenant Smith says, 'set fire to ware- 
houses' ", up in smoke would have gone $3,000,- 
000.00 of army stores. That was the last time I 
saw Lieutenant Smith or Col. Rucker or any of my 
superior officers except Cameron and Lincoln, who 



90 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

came down to the wharf, until after G. B. McClel- 
land came and took command on Friday. Colonel 
Thomas A. Scott, Vice-President of the Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad, who was Assistant Secretary of 
War, had urgent railroad business requiring his at- 
tention in Philadelphia the balance of the week. 

On Thursday as I attempted to enter Colonel 
Scott's office with the daily report of our office, the 
sentinel stopped me, saying : ' ' You cannot go in, the 
President and Secretary of War are there". I 
stood a moment, when out came Lincoln, Cameron 
following closely at his heels — always before Cam- 
eron had been in the lead. Lincoln passed by with- 
out noticing me, but Cameron stopped, saying : ' ' Mr. 
Corey, how are things down at the wharf 1" I said : 
" About as they were. I have not got orders to set 
fire to the warehouses". Mr. Lincoln suddenly 
stopped and said: "Mr. Corey, you will not get 
orders to set fire to the warehouses — the rebels are 
running as fast towards Richmond as our men ran 
back to Washington". I replied: "Mr. Lincoln, 
that is all that saved you". He whirled suddenly 
and went on. Mr. Cameron said: "Mr. Corey, you 
keep a good lookout and see that the warehouses are 
well taken care of". 



Intimate Friends of J. B. Corey 





JOHN QUTNCY ADAMS. 
(See page 323.) 



EDWIN M. STANTON. 

Secretary of War. 

(See page 146.) 




lMil. 

(See page 91.) 




i ; i-:\ 



JAMES G. SANSOM. 
L863. 
(Sec page 98.) 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 91 



Chapter 4 

RECOLLECTIONS OF LINCOLN AND HIS 
CABINET. 

I never pitied a man more in my life than I did 
President Lincoln. On Tuesday, when he and his 
Cabinet were down at the wharf planning for trans- 
fer of Government to New York City, there was a 
look of sadness upon his face at all times that indi- 
cated he carried some deep sorrow. Whether the 
cause was a mental, physical, political, or domestic 
one, the secret is buried with him. That it was 
deep-seated in his own bosom was transparent. I 
have often thought it was perhaps the cause of some 
of the undignified acts which used to try William H. 
Seward 's patience to the extreme limit of endurance. 
I give several instances : The ladies of Washington 
made Seward a present of a flag to hoist over the 
State House, and it was arranged that Mr. Lincoln 
should hoist the flag. Before going over to the State 
House, President and Cabinet reviewed three New 
England Regiments that had just arrived. As the last 
file passed, they broke ranks and rushed to shake 
hands with the President. Lincoln began to squeeze 
the soldiers hands so they would cry with pain. The 
soldiers seeing this, would jerk back their hands 
with : * ' Old Abe, we will take your word for it ' \ The 
President, enjoying the joke, reached out his hand 
and said : ' ' Is there not a man in all this crowd who 
will shake hands with the President of the United 
States?" A great big, burly looking soldier, start- 
ing toward him, said: "I am your man, 'Old Abe' ". 
The President said: "Make way, let the man come; 
he wants to shake hands with the President". In- 
stantly an athletic struggle equal to some of John L. 
Sullivan's, Corbett's or Fitzsimmons' took place. I 



92 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

held my breath and never felt such relief as when th<* 
big, burly soldier began to turn pale and cried out 
"Enough". Such a yell of applause was never 
heard before. Seward, turning to Cameron and 
Chase, said: "Is that not shameful for the President 
of the United States ! ' ' When the noise subsided, 
the President, turning around toward his house, 
cried out: "Willie, Willie!", saying: "Did any of 
you gentlmen see my boy Willie ? " I spoke up say- 
ing: "Mr. Lincoln, he was in the East room playing 
prisoners' base with some other boys". Mr. Lin- 
coln said: "I promised to take him with me to se^ 
me hoist the flag over Mr. Seward's house. It is his 
fault, not mine". Mr. Seward quite impatiently 
said: "The ladies will be waiting upon us". The 
crowd was so dense they had to march a company of 
soldiers with the President and Cabinet in between 
the ranks. As they stood beating time with their 
feet, Seward and Lincoln stood side by side beating 
time. The President, noticing a small man in front 
of him, said: "He is too short-coupled for me", 
stretching his long leg past him nearly to the next 
man's shoulder. All these undignified acts of Lin- 
coln excited the enthusiasm of the people to the 
highest pitch. 

When he reached the State House, the ladies 
with the Baptist preacher, were waiting for us. The 
minister, in a fifteen or twenty minute speech, re- 
counted the great deeds of heroism performed under 
its sacred folds, and the love of the American flag 
from its first waving over the American army at 
Bunker Hill until our own people had pulled it down 
as a filthy rag. All the while Lincoln stood ere<?> 
like a statue, with his eyes tightly closed. When the 
minister had finished his oration, he handed the rope 
to the President. Taking the rope in his hand, and 
looking out over the vast multitude, Lincoln said: 
"Ladies and gentlemen: — The ladies of Washington 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 93 

delegated me with the hoisting of this flag over Mr. 
Seward's house, which if there is nothing wrong 
with the rope and tackle, I intend to do ' \ Spring- 
ing up not less than four feet from the pavement and 
grasping the rope, in about three jerks he had the 
flag at the top of the staff amidst the shouting of 
50,000 voices. 

I think Seward, as Secretary of State, judging 
from his comments on what he called the undignified 
acts of Lincoln, when he and Senator Baker talked it 
over in my office the next day, was nearer being sev- 
ered than on any other occasion until that of Wilkes 
Booth's bullet. Mr. Seward never got over the 
wound the American people gave him in preferring 
the Illinois rail splitter to the New York scholar and 
statesman. 

While I, myself, was an enthusiastic admirer of 
President Lincoln, I have never been able to fully 
reconcile some of his opposite traits of character. 
Although he seemed to be one of the most unselfish, 
pure, patriotic of American statesmen, yet he was 
one of the most adroit politicians the country ever 
had. He had the faculty of allowing the Cabinet to 
have its own way in the various departments and 
yet, without their knowing it, they did just what he 
would have them do. 

In July, 1861, Secretary Seward and Senator 
Baker secured me an interview with Lincoln in re- 
gard to our claim against the Government for our 
coal, supposed to have been confiscated by the rebels 
Mr. Seward in calling Lincoln's attention to the ob- 
ject of my interview said: "I have told Mr. Corey 
that in time of an insurrection the Government is not 
liable for losses of individuals and coal companies. 
Lincoln seeing that Mr. Seward's statements were 
not making me feel encouraged, took me by the hand 
and said: "Mr. Corey, we are going to retake New 
Orleans shortly, and you will get all your coal back 



94 Memoir and Personal Becollection. 

again' '. I replied : ' 'Mr. Lincoln, I am the man tha^ 
tried to help you frame your Cabinet". "Yes,"* 
said he : " You tried to run a rebel in on me", and I 
answered: "I wanted to prevent a Union man from 
becoming a rebel". In a later page recounting our 
troubles with General Butler, when it was necessary 
for me to get an interview with Lincoln, it will be 
noted his prediction not only proved true but he re- 
called this interview as well. 

Simon Cameron. 

Simon Cameron was one man on whom, more 
than any other, depended the practical work in plac- 
ing the army on a sure footing. Cameron's knowl- 
edge and experience as a contractor gave him the 
knowledge of organizing armies that none of the 
other members had, and his service to Lincoln was 
greater than that of any other member of his Cab- 
inet. 

Cameron's one great weakness was his Scotch- 
Irish selfishness. With him, it was Cameron first, 
his ward-heelers second, and Lincoln and his country 
third. This trait prevented Cameron from attaining 
the one great end of his personal ambition, and for 
which his own natural ability so well equipped him. 
His lack of fidelity to Abraham Lincoln, with his 
lack of patriotism, compelled the President to trans- 
port him out of the country, making him Minister to 
Eussia. 

The first act which involved Cameron in trouble 
(into which he was led by his ward-heelers) was the 
purchase of an old vessel that had long been lying at 
the wharf and which was considered unseaworthy. 
Major Morgan had refused several times to accept 
this boat or recommend its purchase at $8,000.00, 
and when it became known that Cameron had bought 
it at a price of $60,000, it created a sensation almost 
equal to the firing on Fort Sumpter. Committees of 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 95 

angry Representatives came down to our Depart- 
ment, seeking evidence to convict Cameron and his 
henchmen with fraudulently purchasing this unsea- 
worthy boat. I remember how honest John Covode 
would come down to the wharf and when I met him 
and Charles Sumner at Williard's Hotel, how they 
would try to pump me. I knew nothing about the 
boat myself, and my $50 a month clerkship kept me 
from finding out anything. Col. Rucker and 
Lieutenant Smith would sometimes whisper in my 
ear, that if the President did not get rid of the Win- 
nebago Chief that" us Pennsylvanians had put upon 
him, he would involve his administration in a hope- 
less failure. There was said to be a syndicate of 
eight persons (of whom Col. Thomas A. Scott and 
Simon Cameron were the heads), that had an inside 
pull on the selling of supplies to the army. 

Lincoln saw that he must act quickly. He sent 
Simon Cameron out of the country and called Ed- 
win M. Stanton, the Prince of American Patriots to 
take Cameron 's place. This, to my mind, was one 
of the greatest proofs of Abraham Lincoln 's qualifi- 
cations to the high office and the responsibility he 
was called upon to assume. 

Edwin M. Stanton. 

To Edwin M. Stanton, more than to any other 
man, or to all the members of Lincoln's Cabinet, or 
to the Generals in the army, is due the credit for the 
crushing of the Rebellion. In Stanton these traits 
were found : first, unfaltering loyalty to his country ; 
second, unswerving fidelity to President Lincoln; 
third, an unswerving determination to make treason 
odious and to allow no guilty traitor to escape. 
Neither the spoils nor the honor of the office in- 
fluenced this greatest of American patriots. This 
caused him to be hated by all traitors and rebel sym- 
pathizers, more than any other man in or out of the 



96 



Memoik and Peksonal Recollection. 



President's Cabinet. He was loyal to his nation to 
the core. His sense of justice will also be observed 
in a subsequent page relating to our difficulties with 
General Butler. 

The other members of Lincoln's Cabinet did not 
have much opportunity to distinguish themselves. 
The Postmaster General, Montgomery Blair, was a 
man of medium ability and managed the depart- 
ment fairly well. His brother Frank, was a more 
potent political force. 




Memoir and Personal Eecollection. 97 

Chapter 5 

END OF MY GOVERNMENT WORK. 

In the latter part of August, 1861, I took sick. 
Calling in a doctor, he said : ' * Young man, you are 
going to have a violent attack of fever and I advise 
you to take the first train for your Pennsylvania 
atmosphere. I reported to Secretary Cameron the 
advice the doctor had given me, who kindly accepted 
my resignation, saying if I got better and desired to 
return, my position would be open for me. I did not 
tell the Secretary of War that I had received from 
Senator Baker, of Oregon, an offer of the position 
of Quartermaster of his Brigade, which would pay 
me three times or more than the clerkship in the 
Commissary Department was paying. 

I called a carriage and started for the station. 
The last man whom I saw on my way to the traip-> 
that I knew, was Senator Baker who saluted me. He 
was killed in battle of Balls Bluff a few weeks after. 

Taking the train, I arrived home a very sick 
man. The second night after getting home, Dr. 
Knox, our family physician (Brother of Taft's Sec- 
retary of State) said I could live until morning. Be- 
coming unconscious — as I have always believed in 
answer to mother 's prayer — I threw up a solid lump 
of matter the size and hardness of an egg, which I 
believe was nicotine secretion, the real cause of my 
sickness and the result of the filthy tobacco habit. I 
immediately got better and in a few days was able to 
get around. 



98 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 



Chapter 6 

GENERAL BUTLER. 
(Holds up Cargo of our Sugar). 

My first contact with General Butler was in con- 
nection with a cargo of sugar which, as previously 
related, we had left on the southern coast at the out- 
break of the war. The sugar was in a warehouse at 
St. Mary's plantation on what was considered de- 
batable ground between the two armies. 

Mr. Peterson, who had been our New Orleans 
representative, and a member of our firm, applied to 
General Butler for a war ship to convey our sugar 
off the coast. General Butler in refusing to give 
him a war vessel, said he had no right to use Gov- 
ernment warships to protect private property, etc. 
However, a few days later General Butler 's brother, 
Col. Butler, sent for Mr. Peterson and offered to get 
our sugar away for every third barrel. Instead of 
accepting this offer, Peterson sent his brother, J. M. 
Peterson, home by way of New York to lay Col. But- 
ler's proposition before the firm. 

Hon. Judge Mellon, who was one of the firm, 
sent me off to Washington with a letter to Secretary 
Stanton, who years before had been a law partner 
with Thomas Mellon. I reached Washington early 
in the morning and repaired to the War Depart- 
ment to wait for the Secretary of War to come to his 
office. When I arrived there at 8 :00 A. M., there 
was a long line of people waiting to see Secretary 
Stanton. Before my turn came it was 2 :00 P. M. 

A finely dressed lady was next in front of me. 
She was a very large woman, and the delay was ap- 
parently very irksome to her, she complaining to me 
of the red tape one had to go through. When her 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 99 

turn came, she presented her papers to Stanton. He 
glanced over them and attached his name to them. 
The woman was so overjoyed that she stopped to tell 
the Secretary what she had said to the writer about 
the great red tape she had gone through, etc., adding 
that she had had the same trouble in getting her son 
out of the invalid corps, etc. That remark to the 
Secretary did her up. She had hardly let it escape 
her lips when Stanton grabbed the paper, took his 
goose quill pen and drew it across "Edwin M. Stan- 
ton ' ' with such vim as to utterly obscure his name, 
on seeing which the lady gave such a sigh that it 
completely unnerved me, so that when the Secretary 
turned his big, black eyes on me, fairly flashing fire, 
and asked me my business, I could only stammer 
out: "Mr. Stanton, Judge Mellon sent me with this 
letter" (holding out the letter, the handwriting of 
which he recognized), and adding that we had some 
sugar on the coast and asked Butler for a convey to 
get it off, and that he had refused, but that Col. But- 
ler had offered to get it down for one-third of the 
sugar, etc., Stanton replied: "Don't give away your 
sugar ; I have heard that before. Sit down on that 
chair until I get through with my morning levee". 
I took a seat and waited two hours more, when the 
Secretary took Mr. Peterson, Mr. Marks and myself 
in his carriage to his house, where he questioned Mr. 
Peterson all about his experience while in New Or- 
leans under the Rebel Government of the city, and 
what, to his knowledge, had taken place after Butler 
had taken the city, etc. Mr. Peterson explained to 
Stanton all of General Butler's orders, establishing 
his government in the city, giving one order which 
they regarded as the key of the arch, the order pro- 
hibiting the sale of liquor, etc., and how after Gen- 
eral Butler rescinded this order it was found that 
the General's brother had bought up and owned all 
the whiskey in the city, etc. Stanton kept us over 



100 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

an hour, hearing our complaint, then made out an 
order on General Butler, got the President's sig- 
nature ordering Butler to give us a ship to get our 
sugar ofT the coast, and in six weeks we had our 
sugar in New York, costing us only the vessel 
freight. 

Tries to Prevent Payment for Our Coal. 

The outcome of our controversy with General 
Butler over the sugar being very distasteful to him, 
he became angered and reported against the Gov- 
ernment paying for coal that we had delivered to it 
on the requisition of his own Quartermasters, (Snow 
and General Shepperd) who had given us vouchers 
for same, signed and receipted for by the captains 
of the vessels receiving the coal. General Butler 
put up the claim that the coal had been the property 
of the Rebel Army, and also set up a claim for sal- 
vage for the soldiers, saying the rebels had set fire 
to the coal when retreating from the city. This was 
false, as our coal was afloat. The rebel General did 
order Peterson to sink the boats but he paid no at- 
tention to the order. 

Butler's adverse report against paying some 
$13,000 for our coal necessitated several more inter- 
views with the Secretary of War, at one of which 
President Lincoln was present, to whom Secretary 
Stanton explained the matter. The President, re- 
membering his promise to me at the interview in 
July, 1861, previously mentioned by me, said: "Did 
I not tell you we would drive the rebels out, and you 
would get your coal back? " In this interview in re- 
gard to the trouble with Butler, the President said 
we ought not to think anything of the Government 
taking some of our coal, as we were getting off easy 
as it was. Secretary Stanton said he had no doubt 
of the justness of our claims, but added that we had 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 101 

better go to the Court of Claims. We did this and 
were finally paid. 

In this connection, I will mention another inci- 
dent which occurred at this time. The rebels had 
set fire to the cargo of Billy Marks. Billy Marks 
and Peterson were warm friends, and hoping to save 
this coal for his friend, Peterson had unloaded the 
coal on a wharf because boats leaked badly, also 
with a view of keeping it from being used by the 
rebels until the last. As soon as the Rebel Army 
left, Peterson took a bucket of water and put out the 
fire. Nevertheless, General Butler allowed these 
claims for salvage and his brother bought the claims 
for a song from the soldiers. After being in the 
Court of Claims for a long time, Congress awarded 
the widow and children of Marks their claim for this 
coal. 

After this dispute with General Butler, he and 
I became enemies. When I saw that he had been ap- 
pointed to the command of the forces around Peters- 
burg, I wrote to both the President and Secretary of 
War urging them to relieve him of the command, 
feeling that a man of his principles would do any- 
thing to advance his own personal or political stand- 
ing. I suggested four other generals, any of whom 
I said was superior to General Butler in every way, 
and would be loyal to General Grant, which I said 
was doubtful with Butler, viz. : General John Sedg- 
wick of the Sixth Corps ; General Warren of the 
Fifth; Phil. Sheridan or J. J. Reynolds for the 
Petersburg army. 

Tribute to General Butler. 

At the time of the death of General Butler, I 
wrote the following for publication : 

"Benjamin Butler died, as all men ought to die, 
at his post. General Butler, in his quiet, dignified 
death, displayed the same heroic spirit which char- 



102 Memoik and Peesonal Kecollection. 

acterized him in life. He did not keep his family 
and friends on the rack for a quarter of a century or 
over. Such was the consideration he manifested for 
the feelings of others that he declined to cause his 
colored valet loss of sleep. 

I am aware, from personal experience, that But- 
ler was not always the most considerate of other 
men's feelings, but even when as a soldier or civil- 
ian, whether as a friend or foe, General Butler was 
a brave man. He will be regarded by many as a 
great character and his achievements will entitle 
him to a niche in the temple of fame. And yet, I 
think the traits of character which secured him the 
greatest notoriety were his weaknesses and to them 
he sacrificed his nobler traits, which, if relied upon, 
would have given him a higher place in our national 
history than he will receive. His inordinate vanity 
and personal ambition subordinated the powers of 
the man to the extent that he became blinded to the 
other resources of which he was possessed. The 
first time my attention was attracted to him was when 
he voted 200 times for Jeff Davis at the Charleston 
Convention. The next time was when he thrilled the 
North with his going to take a brigade of women 
with old broomsticks to clean out the southern 
rebels. 

The first time I saw General Butler, and from 
which I formed an impression of the man that ever 
after seemed to be borne out, was the next day after 
he captured Ft. Hatteras. I rode on the same train 
with him from Washington to Baltimore. The Gen- 
eral was the hero of the hour. He stood up in the 
aisle of the car receiving the congratulations of his 
friends and officers of the army who got on and off 
at every station. He had a large ripe peach in his 
hand which he kept tossing up and catching, first in 
one hand and then in the other. He kept the pas- 
sengers in the car, especially the ladies, in an uproar 



Memoik and Peksonal Recollection. 103 

of laughter at his retorts and replies to the num- 
erous congratulations heaped upon him over his 
brilliant "coup de main" in winning the first vic- 
tory for the Northern forces. I put him down then 
and there as one of the most vain and eccentric men 
I had ever seen. His personal ambition, and evi- 
dent intention of making out of it all the personal 
and political capital he could, was so prominent that 
I think it of itself prevented his promotions to 
greater opportunities more than all else, and as far 
as I am capable of judging the man, I think this 
trait in his character defeated his highest ambition, 
viz. : to be President of the United States. That he 
had higher qualifications for the office than several 
who had filled it, I fully believe. 

In a matter of some personal business interest I 
came in contact with the General in a way that did 
not increase my admiration of the man during the 
administration of the New Orleans Department, but 
nevertheless with all his faults there was in the 
brave, dignified, quiet way in which he met the Con- 
queror of all heroes that which you cannot help feel- 
ing an admiration for. 



104 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

Chapter 7 
CALL FOR VOLUNTEER NURSES. 



Typical Copperhead Incident. 

September 2nd, 1862, when General Pope was 
defeated at Bull Run, President Lincoln issued a call 
for volunteer nurses to care for the wounded. With 
others, I was down at a store, in Port Perry where 
the people assembled to receive the latest news. All 
day, like the first Bull Run Battle, the reports were 
that Pope's army was winning the battle, and the 
first intimation of his defeat was Lincoln 's call for 
volunteer nurses. In telling us the news, the tele- 
graph operator said that Pope's defeat was worse 
than the first defeat at Bull Run, and that things 
were in a bad condition at Washington. There were 
perhaps 300 or more persons waiting to hear the 
news, the majority of them being classed as Copper- 
head Democrats in sympathy with the Secessionist, 
and when the news of Pope's defeat became public, 
expressions such as " Black Abolitionists", 
"Wooley-heads" and "Lincoln's Hirelings" had 
got it in the neck, were the only response from the 
majority. 

The P. R. R. Co. 's Agent reported he had in- 
struction to issue passes to all who would respond to 
the call. I appealed to the crowd, saying: "I would 
be one to go and that we had only time to walk over 
to Brintons to catch the first train". My Pit Boss, 
David Mackey, said he would go, also my cousin, 
Moses Corey, and two of my miners, Hamilton 
Jacobs and Samuel Weaver, also agreed to go. It 
was nine o 'clock when we started for the train over 
a mile from home, amidst the jeers of Copperhead 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 105 

sympathizers calling us "Lincoln Hirelings" and 
"Black Abolitionists ' \ At Baltimore early next 
morning, in passing through we did not receive any 
evidence of approval of what we thought was not 
only a humane act, but a mark of the highest type of 
patriotism. 

I Enter Hospital Service. 

On reaching Washington, I reported to the Sec- 
retary of War, and he sent us to the Catholic College 
at Georgetown, of which the Government had taken 
military possession to convert it into a hospital. 50(i 
convalescent soldiers reported for duty, and in a 
very short time that finely furnished college was 
converted into a hospital and filled with mangled 
soldiers. Many of the soldiers had laid four days 
on the battle field, maggots dropping from their 
wounds when being washed and put in their beds. 




106 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 



Lincoln's Sorrow for Wounded. 

President Lincoln, with that sympathy for 
which he was distinguished, with words of consola- 
tion and kindness and tear-stained face, as he bent 
over their cots, made a scene that would have caused 
the angels to weep, and has made such a lasting im- 
pression on my mind that I never read a tribute to 
this greatest of American Presidents that memory 
does not recall the scene. 

After this hospital was filled with disabled sol- 
diers the Secretary of War sent an Array Surgeon 
to take charge of it and I left for home. 





PART FOURTH 
Chapter 1 



Skattrnptton of (Eoal Vrafttraa 



Return to River Coal Business. 

After recovering from my illness in 1861, the 
demand for coal being then so great, which afforded 
our company the opportunity of converting the large 
stock of flat boats and lumber into cash, to lift of! 
the burden of debt resulting from secession of the 
southern states and the confiscation of our coal, I 
was compelled to decline the urgent solicitation of 
Col. Rucker and Lieutenant Smith to return and 
take my position in the Commissary Department. 

J. B. Corey & Co. Dissolved. 

In April, 1863, the firm of J. B. Corey & Co. was 
dissolved, after Hive years of the most hazardous ex- 
perience. J. H. Peterson bought a farm near Fin- 
leyville on Monongahela Eiver. I also tried to buy 
one but could not find a suitable one for sale. I 
bought the tract of coal on Penna. R. R., that my 
first employer had tried to mine 19 years before, and 
abandoned the river coal business after eighteen 
years' experience as a Flatboatman, as Cook, Hand, 
Pilot and Owner, in which I was fairly successful. 



107 



108 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

Chapter 2 

ENTER RAILROAD COAL TRADE. 



Organization of Corey & Co. 

In 1865, the firm of Corey & Company was or- 
ganized, composed of myself, Henry Lloyd, and 
George Black, for the purpose of engaging in the 
railroad coal mining business. We purchased the 
tract of coal that my first employer had tried to 
mine, 19 years before, at Braddock. We had from 
100 to 150 miners at this mine and averaged from 
5,000 to 8,000 bushels a day, and during the 18 years 
we had the Braddock mine, we mined about 250 
acres. 

Method op Paying Miners in 1865. 

At this time our miners were paid by the bushel. 
When coal sold at 4 cents a bushel at the tipple, the 
miners received two cents per bushel for mining. 
There were no scales, but miners ' wagons were built 
with a capacity of so many bushels, and there was a 
continual wrangle between dishonest employers and 
the miners over the size of the wagons and their be- 
ing honestly filled. As the coal business increased, 
so did the wrangling, and to overcome it, the weigh- 
ing of coal was introduced, and under the methods 
followed this gave the dishonest operator a still 
greater advantage over the miner or the honest 
operator. 

Dishonest Weights Used. 

I Establish Lawful Weight of 76 pounds Per 
Bushel. 



Memoie and Peksonal Recollection. 109 

I soon found there was no money in the coal 
business apparently, as at the price we sold the coal, 
we were at a loss, after paying the railroad freight, 
and when we put in scales an incident occurred which 
gave me an understanding of where the trouble was 
and how some operators were able to make money 
in the coal business. At this time we were paying 
six cents per bushel for digging, but we could not 
compete with other operators and I discovered false 
weights were being used. Today at all tipples 76 
pounds is the lawful beam and they have check- 
weighmen. 

When putting in a scale on the P. R. R., Mr. 
Taylor asked me why I was putting 76 pound beams 
in our scales. I replied: "Is that not the lawful 
beam?" "Yes", said he, "but our company have 
put in all the scales in this locality but we never put 
in a 76 pound beam for any other company; we have 
put in four 80 pound beams, the majority 88 pounds, 
and one 112 pounds ' \ Looking down at the ground 
for a moment, this Scripture came into my mind. 
1 ' Divers weights and divers measures are an abomi- 
nation unto the Lord ' ', and I decided then and there 
what I would do. Looking up at him I quoted the 
text and told him to put in a 76 pound beam. I 
went down to the office and had our bookkeeper write 
the following notice : — 

"On and after the first day of May, 1866, 
we will adopt a co-operative article of agree- 
ment making four cents a bushel the selling 
price at tipple, and two cents for mining price 
paid for miners' wages for one year, retaining 
ten per cent of miners' wages for one year and 
as a forfeit in case they came out on a strike 
without giving us 60 days' notice, Corey & Co. 
agreeing not to reduce the agreed basis without 
60 days ' notice, under penalty of ten per cent to 
be forfeited to the miners". 



110 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 
A Copy of the Agreement follows : 

Co-operative Article of Agreement. 

Entered into this last day of January, A. D., 
1866, by and between Andrew Jackson Jones, coal 
miner, of the first part, and Corey & Co. of Alle- 
gheny Co., Pa., of the second part, to-wit: In order 
to insure a more uniform system of work, and to 
avoid the losses and inconveniences arising from the 
practice of strikes, and to enable the said Corey & 
Co. to secure more permanent contracts and thereby 
give more steady employment, and also to insure to 
each party hereto their share of the advance and de- 
cline in the price of coal in market. It is hereby 
mutually agreed that two (2) cents per bushel, 
screened coal (weighed after it has passed over the 
screen, and only the screened coal to be paid for), 
shall be the price for mining, and five (5) cents per 
bushel, by the car load, in Pittsburgh market, shall 
be the basis of prices to start with, which basis can- 
not be changed by either party, without sixty days' 
notice by the party desiring to change, and in deter- 
mining the price of coal in Pittsburgh market, ref- 
erence shall be had to said Corey & Co. 's books, at 
each monthly settlement, and the average price per 
bushel for which the said Corey & Co. sell coal in 
Pittsburgh market, shall determine the price of min- 
ing. It is also agreed that the rate of advance of 
decline in mining shall be as follows : That for every 
one (1) cent per bushel coal advances, the said 
Andrew Jackson Jones, coal miner, is to receive 
sixty (60) cents per hundred bushels and Corey & 
Co. forty (40) cents per hundred bushels, and each 
to share the decline and price in same ratio to basis 
started from, miner standing sixty (60) cents decline 
and Corey & Co. forty (40) cents; and I, Andrew 
Jackson Jones, coal miner, also agree, that in all 
cases, before striking for wages or other grievances, 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. Ill 

I will give the said Corey & Co. sixty days ' notice, 
and will continue to work until the expiration of said 
notice, at the price herein agreed upon; and I also 
agree that before demanding money due me by said 
Corey & Co., I will put my room in good order, take 
my pit tools off the premises, and give them peac- 
able possession of the house. I also agree to dig or 
mine coal for the said Corey & Co. for one year from 
this date, at the foregoing rate, subject to the pro- 
visions hereinbefore mentioned, sixty days' notice, 
etc., for two (2) cents per bushel, coal weighed as 
before named ; and for the faithful performance of 
the above agreement, I, Andrew Jackson Jones, coal 
miner, agree to leave (10%) ten per cent of all my 
wages stand in the hands of Corey & Co. for one 
year as a forfeit, which, in case I violate this agree- 
ment, by stopping work or going on a strike, without 
giving the said Corey & Co. the aforesaid sixty days ' 
notice, I forfeit and relinquish all claim in law there- 
to, and in that event this article is to be a receipt in 
full for said ten per cent (10%) standing in the 
hands of Corey & Co. The said Corey & Co. binding 
themselves in like manner and amount to give me, 
the said Andrew Jackson Jones, coal miner, sixty 
days' notice before reducing my wages from the 
basis of mining herein mentioned and for the faith- 
ful performance of the above article we bind our- 
selves, our heirs and assigns. 

Corey & Company, 
Andrew Jackson Jones. 

This so-called "Iron Clad" Agreement was 
suggested by some of our more intelligent and rea- 
sonable miners, who realized we could not pay what 
was called the ' • District Price " if we paid for 76 
pounds per bushel in cash against other companies 
taking 88 and 112 pounds in "pluck-me" store 
goods. 



112 Memoik and Personal Becollection. 

My Fiest and Only Strike. 

At first the miners refused to accept the co- 
operative agreement, giving as a reason their fear 
and dislike of being called "Blacklegs", and a hard 
fought strike of four months followed, led by Ben 
Braznel and his father. We won out, and Ben after 
working three months in an adjoining mine came 
with picks on his shoulder and said: "J. B., I want 
you to let me go to work again ; I cannot dig coal 
when I know I am only paid for seventy-five per cent 
(75%) of what I dig". I said: "Ben you ought to 
have thought of that before going on a strike ' ', but 
he insisted on me putting him to work after humiliat- 
ing him. He carried his tools up along an incline 
1,800 feet to the mouth of the pit where some of the 
men, seeing him coming, began to cry out: "Oh! 
Who would be a Corey 'Blackleg', etc." 

In the 18 years we ran this mine, our miners 
bought and built homes of their own, some of which 
have made their children and grandchildren rich. I 
took Braznel and his son into partnership with me 
in working out the ribs and pillars. This gave him 
a start and he is worth today two dollars to my one. 
While most of the miners have passed away, their 
descendants show me respect and credit for the aid 
which I gave their fathers. 

Troubles Between Operator and Miners. 
My View After Thirty-six Years' Experience. 

It is my conviction that 75 per cent of all the 
trouble occurring between coal operators and their 
employers are directly traceable to false weights and 
measures, and to that other even greater evil, which 
honest coal miners and honest operators have to con- 
tend against — the "pluck-me" stores. At the risk 
of being charged with being egotistic, I will say that 



Memoik and Personal Becollection. 113 

to J. B. Corey, the father of the so-called "Iron Clad 
Agreement", the miners are today indebted for the 
system requiring a lawful bushel of 76 pounds and 
payments in cash. Had I failed in my efforts in 
1865, I believe they would today be digging two 
bushels for one, and in making this assertion I am 
certain that Mr. Taylor, of the firm of Forsyth & 
Taylor, the first firm to put in scales on coal tipples 
in this district, will bear me out. In this fight for 
the honest weights, and against the "pluck-me" 
stores, among our greatest opposers were miners ' 
officials (representatives of the Miners' Union) who 
frequently called upon us and urgently requested us 
to change our scales and pay the "district wages". 

After 36 years ' experience operating coal mines, 
I also want to go on record as saying that, in my 
judgment and experience, next to the two evils I 
have just mentioned, with which the honest coal 
miner has to contend (and which drives the better 
class of miners out of the business), also endanger- 
ing miners ' lives and making serfs of them, are the 
political ward-heelers and drones in the hives known 
as "Miners' Officials". First, State paternalism, 
under which the State assumes to dictate the mine 
bosses and appoints ward-heelers for mine inspec- 
tors, increases the hazards of the miners. The other 
equally great evil is the labor leaders or miners' 
officials. I have noticed during the past 30 years 
since these parasites have fastened upon the trade, 
that between unscrupulous operators and these self- 
styled miners' secretaries and presidents, the indus- 
trious, sober, and honest coal miner is between the 
upper and nether millstones. I could instance many 
cases, but the intelligent coal miner understands this 
as fully as I do, and thousands of the better class 
have given up the trade on account of it. In con- 
cluding these remarks, I will add that while this is 
the hardest and, to some extent, the most dangerous 



114 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

class of labor, yet there is a fascination about it 
which keeps men engaged at it all their lives. An- 
other feature of it is that while the coal miners are 
frequently looked down upon, on account of the fre- 
quent labor troubles due to these agitators, I found 
among them, as a class, a higher type of honor, real 
integrity and nobility of character than I have found 
in my personal experience among any other class of 
men with whom I have come in contact. 

In addition to this co-operative agreement at 
Braddock mines, I also made the first attempt that I 
have heard of, to introduce the check-weighman sys- 
tem, but could not induce our miners to agree to pay 
the check-weighman. We tried to persuade them 
that while it would not insure them any better 
weights, it would protect their wages by making the 
class of operators who had false beams give honest 
weights. At a meeting held by the miners to decide 
on a check-weighman system, one old miner said: 
' i If Jim Corey wants a check-weighman, let him pay 
him ; I won 't pay five cents a month to a man to 
watch Lou Corey weigh my coal", and that settled it. 

In 1883, the coal at our Braddock mine being 
worked out, the firm of Corey & Co. advertised its 
stock for sale. 

Myself, Benjamin Braznel, Andrew Braznel and 
Alfred Corey formed a partnership as ' ' Corey Coal 
Company", and purchasing the remnants of the coal, 
together with the stock worked out the mine. 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 115 



Chapter 3 

OPERATION OF DUQUESNE MINES. 

1885—1900. 

The New York & Cleveland Gas Coal Company- 
had been operating what was known as the i i Du- 
quesne" Mine, familiarly called "The Muckle Rat". 
The Muckle Rat miners were difficult to handle, and 
prided themselves on their loyalty to the Miners' 
Union. They had broken up three firms by strikes, 
and practically drove off the N. Y. & C. G-. C. Co., 
and the mine had not been operated for four years. 
Ten of them served 8 years in the Penitentiary for 
killing a pit boss. 

These miners could see the last potatoe in the 
cellar disappear, the last loaf of bread eaten, and the 
children go hungry to bed. They could have their 
Committees beg, but never consent to be a "Black- 
leg" and this was the spirit we encountered later 
when we leased this mine. 

In 1865, when we advertised our Braddock mine 
equipment for sale, the muckle rat miners learned of 
it and a delegation of them came to my house, saying 
the N. Y. & C. C. Co. had decided to abandon the 
muckle rat mine and open the back coal at Turtle 
Creek where their other mines were operated, which 
would render the miners ' homes worthless. 

The delegation said the Muckle Rat Miners had 
sent them over to see if I would lease Duquesne 
Mine and transfer our Corey & Co. equipment of 
mules, pit wagons and coal cars over there, stating 
that they would work for me on our Corey & Co. co- 
operative system. After hearing their report, I re- 
plied: "What! Muckle Rat Miners want to become 
Corey * Blacklegs?' " (This was one of their favor- 



116 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

ite epithets to Corey & Co. miners, they also having 
refused to allow some of the Muckle Rat miners to 
return to Duquesne after working for us). How- 
ever, being familiar with the operation and failure 
of other companies, and having less than a mile to 
transfer stock for which I found no sale, with a 
curiosity to try my co-operative article of agreement 
on the * ' Muckle Ratters ' ', after badgering the dele- 
gation I told them I would draw up a declaration of 
independence and that if the Duquesne Miners 
would sign, and also agree to allow as many of my 
old Corey & Co. miners as wanted to unite with them 
to go to work, I would see the President of the N. Y. 
& C. Gr. C. Co., and if he would lease the mine, I would 
lease it for one year; to see if we could work har- 
moniously and whether I could afford to lease it for 
a longer period. They reported to their miners and 
next day returned, saying all but four had con- 
sented. I drew up a Declaration of Independence 
and they returned it the next day, all but one having 
signed it. 

Declaration of Independence. 

Resolved, That, Whereas, in the past history of 
the coal mining business, as well as other industrial 
trades and pursuits it has been demonstrated that 
strikes and lockouts in settlement of wages and other 
disputes between the employer and the employees 
have not only proved failures, but inevitably result 
in a loss to both parties ; we, therefore, hereby ex- 
press our disapproval of settling disputes, between 
employer and employed in this manner, for the fol- 
lowing reasons : First, it gives unscrupulous labor 
agitators an excuse for usurping the rights of free 
American citizens, taking from them the right of 
making their own contracts and fastening upon the 
industrial classes a lot of lazy galoots to support in 
idleness and vagrancy. 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 117 

Eesolved, That we, the coal miners employed at 
the Duquesne Mines, do hereby set forth and declare 
that, as free American citizens having the right of 
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, being law- 
abiding citizens of the United States and Common- 
wealth of Pennsylvania, we owe no allegiance to any 
of the numerous labor unions, whose officials and 
members are violating both the laws of God and 
man, and are tramping under foot the rights of 
American citizens exercising unlawful jurisdiction 
over trade ; denying to us the right to make and ful- 
fill our own contracts or to work at such wages as 
are agreeable to ourselves, and such like travesties 
upon justice and decency; and, whereas, these self- 
constituted presidents and other officials of the so- 
called miners' union (an organization to which we 
do not belong and have no desire to become members 
of) have, by their public proclamations and speeches 
declared that it is their intention to stop all coal 
miners from engaging at their work, until such times 
and upon such terms and wages as the so-called 
miners' union and its presidents and other officials 
shall themselves decide; we, therefore, do hereby 
repudiate and deny the right of such presidents and 
other officials of said coal miners ' union ; to dictate 
to us the right as free American citizens, to make 
and fulfill our own contracts, to work at such wages 
as are acceptable to ourselves ; and we do hereby 
further declare that we put our rights to make our 
own contracts above any question of wages or 
profits, and for no consideration will we consent to 
any irresponsible body or class of men usurping our 
rights as citizens of the Commonwealth or to dictate 
to us what rate of wages we shall work for, or to 
whom we shall sell our labor. 

We further declare that as law-abiding citizens 
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and of the 
United States (both of which profess to guarantee 



118 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

to us the right of private contracts), that we have 
agreed with the said J. B. Corey, to work at wages 
mutually satisfactory to ourselves, and we hereby 
call upon all persons who recognize our right to do 
so, not to interfere with us themselves, or lend en- 
couragement to lawless or indisposed persons, who 
under the hypocritical pretense of lawful assemblage 
for the purpose of moral suasion are usurping and 
laying siege to peaceful citizens, marching after 
them to and from their work, and otherwise intimi- 
dating citizens of the Commonwealth from peaceable 
pursuing their lawful avocations, (a crime and dis- 
grace). We also call upon our civil government for 
the protection to which every citizen is entitled un- 
der our Constitution in the pursuit of their lawful 
avocations without let or hindrance from any irre- 
sponsible self-constituted labor agitators, assuming 
to be presidents, etc., of the coal miners and other 
organizations, and we also as good citizens give no- 
tice we will resent personally any attempt to intimi- 
date or interfere with us in pursuing our lawful avo- 
cations, and we respectfully ask our public press to 
use their influence in defending us in our rights to 
make our own contracts, and manage our own af- 
fairs, which are dearer to us than any question of 
wages. We also hereby give notice that after weigh- 
ing all phases of this strike, we do hereby repudiate 
both the parties to it and the manner of conducting 
the same, as being seditious, against lawful author- 
ity, and which is nothing more or less than placing 
the coal miners as a body in the attitude of an insur- 
rection of lawless men, setting at defiance our courts 
of justice and the lawful-constituted public officials 
of the State, usurping the rights of American citi- 
zens, all of which we do hereby refuse to become a 
party to. 

Resolved, That we do hereby request said J. B. 
Corey to have copies of these resolutions printed and 



Memoir and Personal Eecollection. 119 

published, and to give notice to all these labor agita- 
tors and parasites; and to all others whom it may 
concern, that these are the principles upon which we 
have requested the said J. B. Corey to start up Du- 
quesne Mines, and also ask him to keep a set of these 
resolutions at the office of the mine, and require 
every man desiring to work with us to sign the same, 
so that no man can get up the pretense that he (lid 
not know the principles upon which he engaged 
to work or was coerced in going to work. 
Having put our rights as citizens of the Com- 
monwealth of Pennsylvania, and of the United 
States, above any question of wages or profits, we do 
not desire to associate with any class of men who 
hold their citizenship in less esteem, nor do we wish 
to be classed with any body of men who treat their 
public officers and civil government with contempt, 
as it is now being done, by the presidents and other 
officials of these self -constituted organizations. 

J. B. Corey, on his part, promises to try to se- 
cure steady employment at the best wages the mar- 
ket price of coal will afford, and to do all in his 
power to promote the best interest and welfare of his 
employees, to all of which we mutually pledge to 
each other, our sacred honors. 

Organize Corey Coal Company. 

I leased the Duquesne mine for one year. My 
other partners withdrew and June 1, 1885, the 
" Corey Coal Company' ' was organized, composed 
of J. B. Corey and his cousin, A. A. Corey, co-part- 
ners, William Ellis Corey, son of A. A. Corey assist- 
ing his father, as weigh boss and bookkeepei. A. A. 
Corey was Superintendent and General Manager at 
the mines. The success attending A. A. Corey in 
managing employees at a coal mine was due to his 
knowledge from years of experience in which he had 
worked personally in almost every branch of the 



120 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

business, his father, Moses Corey, having operated 
a mine under Mt. Washington as early as 1847, and 
two mines at Saltsburg, in the second pool on the 
Monongahela River. A. A. Corey retained his con- 
nection with the Corey Coal Company for five years 
when he withdrew and became a member of the 
Mingo Coal Company. A. A. Corey's gray hairs in- 
dicate he has well nigh run his race, his fellow citi- 
zens have elevated him to be a tax collector for the 
Borough of North Braddock, What affect his affil- 
iations with our Borough ringsters will have on 
Alfred's morals remains to be seen. He died on his 
farm, Thorndale, Pa., December 29th, 1910. 

Shortly after we started up the Duquesne 
mines, the late Captain William R. Jones, General 
Superintendent of the Edgar Thomson Steel Works, 
took a liking to William Ellis Corey and induced 
him to enter the employ of the Carnegie Steel Com- 
pany. Ellis was yet in his teens ; but the judgment 
of Captain W. R. Jones, in regard to the kind of 
young man to make successful mechanics of is seen, 
that for several years past, Ellis has had the Super- 
intendency of the largest steel plant in the world, 
the Homestead Mills, and its greatest achievements 
have been under his management. 

A. A. Corey was succeeded by William L. Dixon, 
who for the past ten years has brought the old 
dilapidated mine into a condition as seen by State 
Mine Inspector's report, equal to the best mines in 
Western Pennsylvania. The capacity of the mine 
has been more than doubled. I question whether as 
a practical up-to-date mine superintendent, Mr. 
Dixon has a superior, if an equal. His quiet effec- 
tive management of his miners and other employees 
is such that there is never any confusion or jang- 
ling. Everything is governed by good judgment, a 
place for the man, and a man for the place. His 
knowledge of what is required is only equaled by his 



Memoir and Peksonal Recollection. 121 

capacity for performing the duties demanded of 
him, and his integrity is the most prominent charac- 
teristic of the man. A gentleman in the highest 
sense of the word, ten years ' experience with a man 
of exacting disposition without a single instance of 
complaint of disagreement speaks for itself in 
stronger words than can be bestowed upon him. 

We subsequently renewed the lease of the Du- 
quesne mine from year to year. The mine was in a 
dilapidated condition when we took hold of it. The 
extensive improvements and the increased cost of 
mining the coal, when greater hauling became neces- 
sary, owing to the exhaustion of the "Near" coal, 
ate up about all the profits, and there were still fur- 
ther improvements badly needed. June 1, 1886, I 
decided to throw up the mine unless the N. Y. & C. 
G-. C. Co. would advance $15,000.00 to make the 
needed improvements. They would not do this ; but 
finally I leased it for another five years with the 
understanding that if they took the mine off my 
hands at the end of any one year before the close of 
five years, they would reimburse me for the money 
expended on the needed improvements, it being un- 
derstood that if I kept the mine for five years that 
ended all my claims for any money advanced. I 
borrowed $40,000.00 to make the improvements and 
got the mine into good shape to make money, and 
was getting my money back when they sold the mine 
in 1899, to the Pittsburgh Coal Company. In De- 
cember, 1899, the Pittsburgh Coal Company notified 
me to give up the mine January 1st, 1900 ; but after 
some controversy, they agreed to let me keep it until 
May 31st, 1900, the end of the year on which my 
yearly lease closed, and against my earnest protest, 
they took the mine off my hands one year before the 
close of my five years lease. I was notified to make 
out my bill and they would pay me. When I pre- 
sented it to Mr. DeArmit, the President of the N. Y. 



122 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

& C. G. C. Co., lie saw it was much higher than the' 
estimated cost, which is always the case. He be- 
came angry and refused to order it paid, it being 
necessary for us to enter suit. 

Our relations with the miners at Duquesne were 
very harmonious ; after lave years, we did away with 
the Article of Agreement reserving 10%, but re- 
tained the Declaration of Independence. The late 
Dr. Charles Hussey asked me for a copy of our ar- 
ticle of agreement and adopted the sliding scale at 
the Homestead Mills. It was also adopted at the 
Edgar Thomson Steel Works, at Braddock, by the 
late Captain Jones. 

Farewell Address to our Miners. 
Duquesne Mine, May 31, 1900. 

To the Miners and Other Employes of the Corey 
Coal Company, Duquesne Mine, Greeting! 
Gentlemen: — It is with mingled feelings of 
pleasure and regret that we notify you that our re- 
lations as employer and employes after fifteen years 
of pleasant business associations and intercourse 
will cease on May 31, 1900. As we review the ex- 
perience of the past fifteen years in the coal busi- 
ness — the most trying, owing to the strong competi- 
tion, over-production and depressed state of all 
business throughout the country, the selling price of 
coal being so low as to afford a small return for 
capital and labor employed — it affords us the great- 
est pleasure of any part of a business experience of 
fifty-three years to remember how pleasant and 
harmonious has been our relations and associations 
during the most trying period in the history of thei 
coal business. How willing at all times our miners 
and employes have been to hold up our hands and to 
enable us to hold and compete for our trade. Along 
with these most pleasant reflections, a feeling of re- 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 123 

gret comes over us at the thought of severing these 
pleasant business associations, as also the recollec- 
tion that some of our number who took such an ac- 
tive part fifteen years ago in forming these associa- 
tions no longer compose our number, but in a few 
instances were suddenly cut off, and in some others 
after having served their day and generation, have 
gone to their reward. A shade of sorrow steals 
over the memory as we remember the deep interest 
that poor Billy Homer took in having Duquesne 
(after four years of idleness) started up, as also 
the manner of his sudden and sad death. Sammy 
and Thomas maintain their father's good name. 
Mr. and Mrs. William Butler were also prominent) 
in the interest they took in starting the mine. Of 
late we have missed their friendly greetings, espec^ 
ially Mrs. Butler's "God bless you" on pay day. 
But we still have with us Barney McGouldrick, 
Peter Boyle and Johnny Burns. Barney of late 
does not make us as many personal calls at our 
house as of yore, neither does Peter or John. Bar- 
ney used to taffy us with "You are the best boss I 
ever shed my coat for since I came to America". 
We want to even up with Barney by saying: "We 
never met a truer son of Erin go braugh" since we 
entered the coal mining business. Then there is 
Patsey Curran the "far down" from Tipperary, 
one of the first to extend the friendly hand when we 
first invaded the "Rat". Pat has prospered so well 
since our union that he has become a cold blooded 
coal operator and now knows himself what it is to 
take what is left on pay day. 

Among the many pleasing incidents of our ex- 
periences at Duquesne was the renewal of our ac- 
quaintance with Thomas Franey and Henry Cain, 
Sr. Our first acquaintance with Thomas Franey 
was in 1859, when as a coal boat pilot, in hiring a 
crew of twenty hands to man the boats, he was 



124 Memoik and Pebsonal Recollection. 

among the number of fine specimens of manhood, 
for which old Ireland is noted. We had not met 
Thomas, after that trip until he greeted us at our 
first visit to Duquesne Mine in 1885. Our friend- 
ship and respect increased as we became more inti- 
mately acquainted. He left behind him sons and 
daughters in every respect worthy of a noble father. 
Henry Cain, Sr., who for years owing to a painful 
accident was necessitated to use crutches in going to 
and from the mines, as we witnessed the pluck and 
courage of this true specimen of Irish manhood, 
earning his daily bread under such trying circum- 
stances, and our mind turned to another specimen, 
the public sinecures and mendicants who lie down 
on the public frequently for their support. The 
two types of characters never appeared in more 
striking colors, Henry, Thomas, and Brothers, are 
worthy of their noble sires. There are still others 
of Duquesne Mines equally worthy of the tribute due 
them, but memory and space prevent. I must not 
forget H. Barkley, who after age prevented him 
from using the pick in the mines, became the ever 
faithful watchman at the check house. When he be- 
came so feeble that he could not endure the cold 
throughout the night, his noble and affectionate 
daughter would take his place, and "through the 
still hours of the night her watchful vigils 
kept". Then there was still lingering on the shores 
of time, that noble type of true American manhood, 
John McCauley, who was loved and revered by all 
his neighbors, he still held a warm place in the affec- 
tion of his fellow workmen. His sons, William and 
John and Samuel, occupy a place in this respect the 
father so long held. There are among those of the 
Duquesne miners, some who worked out the Corey 
& Co. mine at Braddock. This mine was opened in 
1865. In recalling these reminiscences, not least 
among the many pleasant things that have made our 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 125 

association together so agreeable is the great length 
of time some of these relations have existed. Some 
of them over half a century, beginning when we were 
school boys and have continued almost uninterrupt- 
edly ever since in one relation or another. We have 
worked side by side with some as hands on the 
olden time river coal tipples, also siding, loading and 
floating the flat boats loaded with coal to Cincinnati, 
Louisville and New Orleans. Among these who we 
remember as school boys as early as 1840 to 1845, 
are Samuel Soles, James Law and Louis Sarver, 
they who will remember the noted old schoolmaster 
James Riddle, who did not require a $5,000 ward- 
heeler of any boss politician to certify to his ability 
to teach school or to earn his $25 to $30 per month for 
eight hours per day. Professor Riddle's stiff right 
arm, (necessitating the use of his left in applying 
the birch, one application of which was all that was 
necessary to tame the most refractory scholar) is 
still remembered for the great distance it main- 
tained between the pupil and teacher during the 
process of the castigation. I am not certain but 
that the orderly habits acquired by these pupils in 
after life were due to his well-directed applications 
of the birch by Professor Riddle, when we were 
boys. They have much to do with the pleasant 
memories of the past, if not of the pleasant associa- 
tions of the present, existing between the old school- 
mates. The relations of Samuel Soles, having in 
one way or the other continually existed since boy- 
hood, and since 1858, as employee and employer. 
James Law and Louis Sarver as employees have not 
been less pleasant during the past eighteen years 
than of yore. Then there is Charles Harrison, 
whose father, John Harrison, was one of our boy- 
hood acquaintances. John and his son Charles be- 
gan to work for us in the Braddock Mine in 1865. 
The industrious Charley for the past thirty-five 



126 Memoik and Personal Recollection. 

years never allowed a turn to pass him and the 
amount in his pay envelope being second to none. 
If all our coal miners were as industrious, quiet, and 
good citizens as Charley, how much more pleasant 
and profitable would be the trade; yet, he has 
among his fellow miners at Duquesne many peers, 
among whom are Charles Arnesburg and brother, 
James Duffy, the dignified Irish gentleman, and 
sons; James Garrity, the merchant who demurred 
to his wife's partiality for girl babies; Martin 
Dineen, car repairer, whose delight it was to have 
his pit wagons in the best possible condition; Samuel 
Rickard, industrious, quiet, and unobstrusive, as 
also James Dale, sedate in behavior, industrious and 
frugal. Michael and Hughey Rodgers and Peter 
Wilson, three small men in stature, richly endowed 
with those sterling qualities which characterize the 
Irish race. Peter's eyesight having failed, can no 
longer enjoy the pleasant smiles that usually greeted 
him on pay day, but he is no less an object of the 
affection and kind regards of all his old friends. 
Thomas and William Darby and sons were not less 
devoted to the success of the mine. James H. Boyle 
and little Peter Boyle have contributed their full 
share to the successful operation of the mine. (Peter 
acquired the cognomen ' * little ' ' from his being born 
more recently than his distinguished uncle, Little 
Peter being almost six feet high, his muscular pro- 
portions only being a little less than his other good 
traits). Mr. William Reily, owing to having already 
exhausted all the adjectives in my own vocabulary, 
I am unable to do William justice. Peter and John 
Edge's picks always retained a good edge when 
there was any coal to cut, and if through any neglect 
they did not receive what they were entitled to, they 
were not long in showing the ' ' edge ' '. Daniel Brad- 
ley and brother, Archy Hamilton, Samuel Guy, Ed- 
win Jones, each and all have contributed to the 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 127 

pleasure and profit of the business. Teddy Jones, 
the veterinary surgeon, not only has done his full 
share in removing the black diamonds, but had made 
himself even more useful to his neighbors and 
friends, in saving to them many a fine horse or cow. 
Charles Gallagher and his late brother Domenick 
helped to give prestige to the famous old village and 
Muckle Rat had few better men to boast of. Among 
the other employees who began with us in 1885, was 
Joseph Corbet, pit boss; Thomas Mason, black- 
smith; William Alexander and son, Harvey, and 
brother John Alexander, who along with Mathew 
and Kirk Cassidy, hauled the coal from mines to 
tipple. A more capable and efficient class of em- 
ployees are rarely ever found about a coal mine. 
Not only were they competent, but obliging. William 
Alexander for 10 years or more checked, as also 
John Taylor at Braddock Mine from two to four 
hundred wagons a day down the incline, almost 
without a single accident: Matthew Cassidy in his 
care of mule stock and managing his drivers is al- 
most without a peer, as is also his brother Kirk in 
handling a team of mules delivering his trips to the 
parting on time. We have had several mine bosses 
during our control of the mine, Thomas Jones, 
Robert McElroy, John Owens, Mark James, all 
whom were faithful in the discharge of their duties, 
none more so than Elliott Ramsey, the engineer at 
the foot of the hill who drilled and set in the rail- 
road cars, taking out same whjen loaded. Our tipple 
men and weigh bosses all gave uniform good satis- 
faction. Roland Green, road man, track layer and 
man of all work, giving universal satisfaction, a 
Chesterfield in appearance and address. 

To those whom our memory does not recall, and 
who have not received their due in need of praise, 
we ask you to accept the will for the deed, and in 
this parting word may we not express the hope that 



128 Memoie and Personal Recollection. 

your new relations may be even more prosperous 
and happy, and through a kind providence your 
days may be lengthened out to enjoy the pleasures 
of your homes you have so industriously provided 
for yourselves and family and to which you are so 
justly entitled. 

With our kindest regards, we remain, 

Sincerely your friends, 

J. B. Corey, 
W. L. Dixon. 



While I was running the Duquesne Mines a 
strike occurred at Turtle Creek, and one of the 
Pittsburgh papers after interviewing me, published 
the following article : 

If Corey were Sheriff, 

He says the authority of the Commonwealth 

would be tested instantly at Turtle 

Creek. 

In an interview yesterday afternoon, J. B. 
Corey, the coal operator whose miners are working 
in both his mines at Duquesne, that gentleman gave 
his opinion of the strike and the way it is being han- 
dled by the authorities. Following is Mr. Corey's 
statement in part : 

"Yes, I see the public press and people are in 
sympathy with the labor agitators who are conduct- 
ing the coal miners' strike." 

"Sympathy of the practical kind, like faith, is 
good when wisely bestowed, and no good when un- 
wisely bestowed, and the effect is the same whether 
intelligently or ignorantly shown, to-wit: — If the 
public press and people for want of an intelligent 
knowledge of the class and conduct of the people, 




WLLLIAM DIXON. 

1885. 
(See page 128.) 



Memoir and Personal Eecollection. 129 

they are manifesting sympathy for, encourage lazi- 
ness and lawlessness, the effect will be that indus- 
trious law-abiding citizens engaged in their lawful 
business and legitimate trades are terrorized and 
prevented from working to provide for their fam- 
ilies, the suffering and want following will be just 
as bad to those industrious miners and their families 
who are working as if they wanted to work and 
could not find work to do. Not only so, but vaga- 
bondism and indolence is made a virtue, while indus- 
try is stamped as criminal and put under the ban of 
the public press and people sympathizing with vaga- 
bondism. This, I say, is the result, whether in- 
tended or not, by the people and press lending aid 
and sympathy to men setting at defiance the laws of 
Grocl and man ; under the pretense of aiding poor 
men. Now, what are the facts in this strike of coal 
miners? First, that labor agitators say they are 
striking against starvation wages and against 
miners being reduced to slavery. 

If these high-sounding expressions were true, it 
still would not justify their lawless attempts to pre- 
vent men from working who are not starving, much 
less an intelligent public press or people encourag- 
ing such lawlessness. But you say they are not 
lawless. All that is necessary to show the fallacy of 
such statements is the fact that President Dolan 
says he will disregard Sheriff Lowry 's proclamation, 
etc. If J. B. Corey was Sheriff, the authority and 
powers of the Commonwealth would be put to a test 
instanter. I would give the people an opportunity 
to show whether they are prepared to have Presi- 
dent Dolan and his co-Anarchist's system become 
the order of society in regulation of business pur- 
suits in our state. Every other class of citizens 
have the same right to establish their demands ac- 
cording to the Dolan and Debs rule that the coal 
miners have. 



130 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

Coal mining for the hours worked pays better 
than common labor on the railroads or on farms and 
that is the reason why there are ten miners for 
every one there is work for ; but then this condition 
of things gives a vagabond class, as in this instance, 
a plausible excuse to play upon the ignorance of the 
miners and people to get a living without ever dig- 
ging a single ton of coal. 

My miners working for me yesterday put out 
between 400 and 500 tons of coal. At the price I am 
paying per ton, it shows an average of $1.62 for 
each miner, and yet if there was no excitement, the 
same men would have mined at least one-half more 
coal ' \ 

One old miner over 50 years old walked three 
miles to his work and earned over $2 per day during 
the past five days. So then if it is in the interest of 
good society to sympathize with vagabondism as 
against honest industry, I suppose we will have all 
we can possibly desire of that type of character in 
our midst. Now, what do you expect from this kind 
of sympathy! If you succeed in forcing 1,500 
miners engaged in supporting their families, to 
throw down their tools, what have you accomplished 
except adding that many more to the number of 
starving people. If there was only one ton of coal 
for each miner at 50 cents a ton, how many tons will 
there be for each miner at 69 cents, or if 50 cents a 
ton gives ten more miners than there is work for, 
what will 69 cents give? Don't get the idea that I 
think 69 cents is too high a price for digging coal. 
I only want to call attention to some hard pan facts, 
but then I suppose it is a crime to afford men a 
chance to earn or to work for a living. 

Hurrah for vagabondism ! Whoop 'er up for 
all its worth. Hurrah for our ten-thousand-dollars- 
a-year Sheriff who pusilanimously stands by and 
sees the dignity of the commonwealth trodden under 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 131 

foot, and his own proclamation treated with con- 
tempt. I will agree to select twenty-five men from 
among my coal miners, any one of whom would be 
glad to have the office at one thousand dollars per 
year, more than double what they earn at mining, 
and I will put up a bond for double the present 
sheriff's bond that no labor agitator or Anarchist 
will trample with impunity upon the dignity of the 
Commonwealth, as has been done for weeks past 
under our high salaried officials who are afraid to 
execute the duties of the office for fear of jeopardiz- 
ing their big salaries. Peduce these imbeciles and 
we will have more money to pay our wage earners, 
and will secure both integrity and efficiency in public 
office, which boodlerism never did or will secure. In 
the 36 years that I operated the Braddock and Du- 
quesne Coal Mines, on my co-operative agreement 
with our miners, I had to contend against a corrupt 
venal public press, pot-house political demagogues, 
and labor parasites, composing the coal miners ' 
union officials ; creating strife, publishing and circu- 
lating all manner of falsehoods ; appealing to the 
malice, jealousy, and hatred of ignorant foreigner's 
and dishonest competitors, paying their employees 
in " pluck me" store goods and false weights. Yet 
against all these obstacles, I made a record in op- 
erating coal mines unprecedented in the U. S., that 
of operating two coal mines each 18 years, employ- 
ing from 100 to 150 miners without a strike ; in 
which on four different occasions we furnished four 
railroads ; the P. P. P., B. & 0. P. P., P. F. W. & C. 
P. P. and Panhandle P. P., with coal, enabling them 
to operate and run their trains when they could not 
have purchased a car of coal west of the Allegheny 
Mountains. In 1865, when we opened up our mine 
at Braddock, there were in operation 6 other mines 
on the P. P. P. running coal and five on the B. & 0. P. 
P. While nine of these coal companies failed and 



132 Memoie and Peksonal Recollection. 

bankrupted, Corey & Co. paid 6 per cent to its stock- 
holders ; and Corey Coal Co. paid all its debts without 
violating laws of God or man, and at 82 years of 
age, no business regulation or system of my 50 years 
affords me greater pleasure to recall than the adop- 
tion of our co-operative wage agreement with our 
Coal Miners. 



Chapter 4 

I DISCONTINUE COAL BUSINESS. 

The New York & Cleveland Gas Coal Company, 
selling out the Duquesne Mines to the Pittsburgh 
Coal Company, and Corey Gas Coal selling our 
mines on the Monongahela River to the River Coal 
Company, the next five years was spent in settling 
up my own personal affairs and disposing of several 
tracts of coal I had purchased. "With the above, I 
close the narrative of my business career, with its 
allied incidents and reminiscences. In the succeed- 
ing chapters, I will relate the most important of my 
other personal experience, and correspondence, etc. 



7WV 



1 AAA 



PART FIFTH 
Chapter 1 



Miatt Uattf am personal ItxpmmttB 



THE LIQUOR QUESTION. 

"Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, that puttest 
thy bottle to him, and makest him drunk also, that thou 
mayest look on their nakedness. 

Thou art filled with shame for glory; drink thou also .... 
The cup of the Lord's right hand shall he turned unto Thee. . . 

For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil 
of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, 
and for the violence of the land, of the city and of all that 
dwell therein." 

Habakkuk 11-15, 16, 17. 

My Decisions on Whiskey 
Instances of Ruin Wrought by Liquor. 

I Refuse to Sell Whiskey and Lose My 
Fiest Job. 

In narrating my boyhood recollections I have 
mentioned how I lost my first job because I refused 
to learn the saloon business and sell liquor. It was 
not until nineteen years later that I realized the full 
extent of the kindness of that good Providence 
which gave the fourteen year old boy the courage to 
say : ' ' My mother would not allow me to sell whis- 
key", and how often do I praise my Heavenly 
Father for that courage. 

133 



134 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

I feel that I should here cite one instance of the 
ruin wrought by the bar behind which I had refused 
to serve. 

The reader will recall how one of my early 
duties had been to take care of my employer's chil- 
dren, two of whom were named Robert and George. 

One day, about nineteen years afterwards, the 
son-in-law of my old employer came over to my 
house and asked me to go to his home and read the 
Bible and pray with his dying brother-in-law, 
George, the beautiful little boy baby that I had nursed 
in 1846. That beautiful young man was dying from 
the effects of strong drink, the appetite for which he 
had contracted behind his father's bar, and which I 
had from a sainted mother's precepts and prayers 
declined to go behind. 

In less than a year, another son-in-law married 
to his oldest daughter (the eight year old girl in 
1846) came to my house saying he wanted me to 
read and pray with Robert (the boy I used to saddle 
the pony for). He would not allow the preachers to 
administer to him the consolations of the Gospel, 
but said that Mr. Corey might come. I went with 
him, and I cannot describe my feelings of sadness as 
I looked into the face of the young may dying from 
the same cause that had taken his brother. He had 
also acquired the habit behind the same bar. 

My Second Decision on Whiskey. 

This was as a pilot on a pair of flat boats 
loaded with coal for Louisville, Ky. The pilots 
were instructed to sell the boats at intermediate 
points if, as sometimes happened, a purchaser would 
come out in a skiff and offer the price we were in- 
structed to get for the coal. If the boats were sold 
above Cincinnati, the hands and pilots received 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 135 

Cincinnati wages and the same rule applied regard- 
ing towns above Louisville. 

One day I was floating above Petersburg, 
twenty miles below Cincinnati, when a distiller and 
two other men came out in a skiff. One of them 
said: "Is that coal for sale?" I replied: "Yes". 
He inquired what we asked a bushel and I said: 
' ' Nine cents ' \ He asked if we could land the boats 
at Petersburg and I told him we could, and wanted to 
know where the boats were to be landed". "At the 
Distillery Landing". I asked: "Is the coal to be 
used to make whiskey?" He replying that it was, I 
told him, "I will not sell you the coal to make whis- 
key". 

Immediately I had three big Kentuckians and 
fifteen Pittsburgh Irish Coal Boat Hands on my 
back. The distillery parties were much surprised 
and indignant that I would outlaw and anathematize 
their business, and my crew equally surprised that I 
would compel them to take the time and chances 
navigating twenty-four hours longer and pay one 
dollar more fare on deck to get back to where we 
could sell the boats, and they were entitled to Louis- 
ville wages. However, I was master of the situa- 
tion and no one else had authority to sell, or was 
capable of landing the boats. I myself would have 
saved four dollars fare in the cabin. For the next 
twenty-four hours, the crew, most of whom were 
Roman Catholics, did not manifest the most har- 
monious disposition. At Louisville the next day the 
owner of the coal who was also a Catholic, said to 
me : " I think you are carrying your temperance 
sentiments too far", I replied: "Tommy, there 
are over 300 coal boat pilots. If you want your coal 
sold to distilleries to make whiskey, you will have to 
hire some other pilot than J. B. Corey". I after- 
wards piloted several pairs of boats for him, pilot- 
ing the last pair he ever sent out. 



136 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

My Third Trial with Whiskey. 

My third stand against liquor was in 1872, while 
I was President of the Waverly Coal & Coke Com- 
pany, located at Smithton on the B. & 0. R. R. 

I went up to the mines one morning. The Su- 
perintendent handed me a letter enclosing $35.00 in 
cash, saying it was from Mr. M., a distiller about a 
mile below, ordering a car load of coal. Taking out 
my pencil, I wrote on the back of his letter that, with 
my convictions of our duty to the community, we 
could not sell him a car load of coal knowing it was 
going to be used in making whiskey, and handing it 
back to the Superintendent told him to return the 
letter and the money. The next morning I received 
a note from him, written in the most beautiful hand- 
writing I ever saw, saying : " I am sorry to have put 
you to the trouble to write that conscientious little 
letter". 

I supposed that would end the matter, but not 
so. The Treasurer of the Waverly Coal Company 
and a large Stockholder (a Presbyterian Elder), 
went to the Freight Agent of the B. &. 0. R. R. and 
had him ask the Distiller for his letter ordering the 
car load of coal, containing my endorsement on it 
refusing to sell him coal to be used to make whiskey, 
and for him to bring it to the monthly meeting of 
our Board of Directors. 

As we were seated around the table, in came the 
Freight Agent, and as he stepped up to where the 
Board were seated, he exclaimed: "Is Corey run- 
ning the Waverly Coal & Coke Company on Free 
Methodist principles ?" Taken by surprise, I did 
not know what was to follow, when he threw the Dis- 
tiller 's letter down and I saw my writing on the back 
of it, refusing to sell him the car load of coal. I 
quickly replied: "Yes, Mr. B., if you call refusing 
to sell coal to make whiskey 'Free Methodist prin- 



Memoik and Personal Recollection. 137 

ciples, I am running the Waverly Coal & Coke Com- 
pany on those principles ', and as all the stockholders 
were present, if those principles are not satisfactory 
they can elect another President, and I will step 
down and out". The largest Stockholder said: "I 
guess we can excuse Corey on other grounds ' \ Two 
others said: "Mr. B., we will stand by Corey". Mr. 
C, the Treasurer, sung dumb. 

A few days afterwards our Superintendent said 
to me : "M. says he is going to open up his 300 acres 
of coal adjoining the Waverly Coal Company's coal, 
and break up the damn company". I replied: "Mr. 
M. will know more about the coal business that he 
knows about the whiskey business by the time he 
carries out his threat". M. sank a shaft and 
opened up the coal under his own farm, involving 
himself in debt. 

Result of his Whiskey Selling. 

One Sunday afternoon, the Division Boss on the 
B. & O. R. R. and his track men took it into their 
heads to go to the Distillery and ' ' Tank up ' \ There 
is a saying that when whiskey is in, wit is out. The 
Distiller had three young daughters who were stand- 
ing at their front gate, when the drunken party 
passing them, the Division Boss made an indecent 
proposal to them and they ran into the house crying, 
telling their father, Mr. M., how they had been in- 
sulted. The Distiller, forgetting that it was his "bug 
juice", sold to them by his clerk, that caused his 
daughters to be insulted, took down his rifle and 
blew out the brains of the drunken Division Boss. 
He was tried for murder, convicted in the second 
degree, and sent to the Penitentiary for ten years, 
his farm and coal mines being sold by the Sheriff 
for his debts. 

One morning as I got off the train at Smithton, 
the Superintendent who handed me the first letter, 



138 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

ordering the car load of coal, handed me another let- 
ter, this time saying: "This is from Miss M., the 
eldest daughter of Mr. M. who swore he would break 
up the damned Waverly Coal & Coke Company". 
I said: "Yes, (I see it is written in the same nice 
hand that the first was written ) ". The Superin- 
tendent said: "She says their home has been sold; 
she wants you to let her have one of the class rooms 
in the Free Methodist Church to teach a pay school, 
as she is the only support of her aged mother and 
sisters' ■, (I had built a Free Methodist Church in 
the center of the town). I told the Superintendent 
to tell Miss M. that she could have both class rooms 
if she needed them, and if they were not large 
enough, she could use the entire church, on one con- 
dition — that she teach the children that the manu- 
facture and sale of intoxicating liquor is the greatest 
evil of the present day". The Superintendent re- 
ported that Miss M. accepted the church on these 
conditions, saying: "The manufacturing of intoxi- 
cating liquor had proven the greatest evil that ever 
befell their family. 

Misfortune Follows Two Other Whiskey Sellers. 

The first saloon the little town of Port Perry 
ever had was kept by a man who had been working 
for my father on the lock and dam. When he started 
in the business my mother remonstrated with him 
and he said he only wanted to earn money enough to 
pay for a farm he had bought. He had ten children, 
four boys and six girls. 

Sequel : 

His boys became drunken vagabonds, and his 
girls went to ruin, he, himself, being a drunkard. 
He succeeded in paying for his farm and for his 
saloon stand in Port Perry, dividing up his prop- 
erty with his children. However, today there are 



Memoie and Peksonal Recollection. 139 

but one of his children living (youngest), but 
both the farm and saloon passed out of the fam- 
ily's hands, and the few grandchildren living are 
among the poorest class in the community. He had 
a brother-in-law who, seeing him accumulating 
money, started a saloon with the same result, mak- 
ing drunkards of his six sons, only one of whom is 
living today and he a poor drunken wretch. 

Another case in my mind was a young lady rela- 
tive, who, on the death of her first husband, married 
a promising young farmer and every one thought 
she had done well, but, alas, as is often the case, all 
her friends were doomed to disappointment. In a 
short time her father came to me and said she and 
her husband were going to move to Smithton to en- 
gage in the saloon business, and asked me to write 
them to try and persuade them not to think of doing 
the disgraceful act. I wrote, but to no purpose, and 
they started the infamous business. Their alluring 
hopes were also doomed to disappointment. They 
did not long continue making drunkards of other 
people's boys before her own bright young son (by 
her first husband) began to contract the appetite, 
and she had a drunken sot of her own on her hands. 
Not only this, but the curse of God on the dirty busi- 
ness did not stop there, for her husband became in- 
fatuated with one of her hired girls and eloped with 
her, leaving his wife with the dirty saloon on her 
hands, which she soon sold out. 

Out of hundreds of similar instances I have 
known, there has not been one where God's curse did 
not seem to rest upon the ones who sold the liquor, 
even though for a time riches and prosperity seemed 
to first follow them. 



140 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

A Case Before Squire Campbell. 

Shown in my letter to Governor Pennypacker, in 
May, 1905, of which the following is a part : 

I cannot for the life of me, dear Governor, see 
on what principle President Roosevelt can expect 
our laboring men's wives to consent to have large 
families. 

A Tilt with Bridget Flanegin. 

I had a little experience a few evenings since 
with a large Irish woman, the mother of a large fam- 
ily. She is one of those fine large specimens of the 
typical Irish mothers such as only old Ireland can 
produce. Her husband is also a typical Irishman. 
He works seven days a week at the mills, while his 
wife works from 4 o'clock in the morning until 10 
and 11 o 'clock at night, washing and cooking for a 
houseful of boarders. I herewith furnish you a cut 
of this old Irish woman as she appeared at the 
Squire's office. She wanted to have Pat arrested 
for giving her a body bating and slandering her 
character for taking a little pleasure with some of 
her friends. The old man, himself, she said had 
been on a jag for a week with his friends, but would 
not allow his old woman to have a little pleasure 
with her friends. As I sat and listened to Squire 
Campbell trying to persuade the old woman to delay 
having Pat arrested until morning (as he said she 
would relent when she got sober, her face bleeding 
from the blows of her husband's fist), I tell you, 
dear Governor, my total abstinence and prohibition 
sentiments got a terrible jolt. Another customer 
requiring the Squire's attention, I thought I would 
venture to suggest that it was more the fault of the 
Irish whiskey than her husband that she was suffer- 
ing from. I made the suggestion in the most deli- 
cate way I could think of, when with a look of con- 
tempt that only a woman feeling that her own dig- 




BRIDGET FLANEGIN. 
(See page 140.) 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 141 

nity and rights were being trampled upon, straight- 
ening up, she exclaimed: "Phat are yez talking 
about! Phat's it your business? I pay for what I 
drink. I have twelve boarders; I get up at four 
o 'clock in the morning and work until ten and eleven 
at night and wid yez take from me, a drop of the 
crather the only comfort I have ? If yez would mind 
your own business, sure yez would have enough to 
do". The next evening "Pat" was up to the 
"Squire's" and he wanted to bring suit against his 
wife. He was about as forlorn looking as his wife, 
and his excuse for his acts were that he was only 
taking a little pleasure with some friends. 

I tell you, dear Governor, as I thought of these 
poor people having to work seven days a week for 
wages that yields some of them less than $300 per 
year, the purchasing power of which is destroyed by 
these grafters' big salaries, I felt the drink habit, 
perhaps, after all was not such an unmitigated evil 
as we Prohibitionists are wont to believe it is, but, 
dear Governor, be that as it may, every humane 
patriotic consideration possible to conceive of, would 
seem to unite in demanding that this abuse of our 
municipal, State and National Governments in 
which even our public charities are not safe from 
these greedy grafters should be uprooted, root and 
branch. The only way to do it is to begin with the 
origin of this corrupt state and condition of public 
affairs. It had its origin in the passage of the in- 
famous salary grab act of 1873. 



I will close my experiences with the liquor busi- 
ness by quoting copy of my petition to the Pennsyl- 
vania Legislature, as follows : 



142 Memoik and Personal Recollection. 

Braddock, Penna., Feb. 27, 1909. 

TO THE HONORABLE, 

The House of Representatives, and 
The Senate of Pennsylvania : 

Greeting : 

The undersigned, a law-abiding citizen of the 
Keystone State, would hereby respectfully pray and 
petition your honorable body to pass an act pro- 
hibiting the manufacture or sale of intoxicating 
liquor, or the shipping of it from other States into 
the Keystone State. 

And I, also as a law-abiding citizen do hereby 
earnestly protest against the repeal of any law or 
statute on the statutes of our Commonwealth pro- 
hibiting the sale of intoxicating liquor in any 
County, City, Town or Township, known as the dry 
districts. 

For which I herewith offer your Honorable body 
the following reasons : 

1st. Is it right to build churches to save men, 
and at the same time license shops to destroy them? 

2nd. Is it right to license men to do that which 
will make a man drunk, and then punish the man for 
being drunk? 

3rd. Is it right to derive revenue from a traffic 
which no decent man defends? 

4th. Is it right to license a man to make pau- 
pers, and then tax sober men to take care of them? 

5th. Is it right to license a saloon to teach vice, 
and then tax people for schools to teach virtue? 

6th. Is it right to teach a boy to restrain his 
passions and then vote to license a place where his 
worst passions will be inflamed? 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 143 

7th. Is it right to take care of your own boy, 
and vote to license that, which ruins your neighbor 's 
boy? 

8th. Is it right to preach justice and charity, 
and then vote to license a thing which robs the 
widow and orphan of their bread? 

Remember, Honorable Sirs, "We can do noth- 
ing against truth". I am, dear Sirs, 

Very sincerely yours, 

J. B. Corey. 




144 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

Chapter 2 
MY CONVEESION. 

To conciliate my mother's convictions after I 
was converted in the absence of the preacher (under 
a disciplinary rule requiring the class leader to read 
one of Wesley's Sermons), I took to reading ser- 
mons of John Wesley, Adam Clarke and others, in 
which I have had some wonderful experiences. 

On February 28th, 1858, at 9 :30 P. M., when the 
Holy Spirit witnessed with the Blood that I was 
born of God, I sprang to my feet and ran back to 
where my partner and schoolmate was sitting, 
throwing my arms around his neck saying: "Oh, 
Jack ! I feel so good, so good !" A proud, vain, con- 
ceited young man, I would not have acted as I did 
before I was converted if I had been offered the town 
of Port Perry ; in fact, I found fault with a young 
woman for doing the same thing the night before, 
saying that she had made a fool of herself. In after 
years, when back-slidden in heart, I would some- 
times be tempted to think there was nothing in the 
claim of a supernatural work of grace in a real con- 
version ; but, when I would recall my experience on 
the night I was converted, all my doubts would 
vanish. 

Rev. Hess was the pastor conducting meetings, 
having three other appointments on the circuit. In 
announcing his appointment for next Sabbath said : 
"I will appoint Brother Corey Class Leader and Su- 
perintendent of the Sunday School ; and to keep him 
from back-sliding we will put him to work. He will 
read next Sabbath morning and evening Mr. Wes- 
ley's sermons on "The Marks of the New Birth" 
and "The Use of Money". I started in, and in a 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 145 

short time had one of the best, if not the best, Sun- 
day School in the Pittsburgh Conference, with over 
150 on the roll and an average attendance of 100 
every Sabbath. Some of them walked three miles. 
I, myself, in the cold winter mornings walked over a 
mile to kindle the fire, and went home for my break- 
fast and to bring the children of a neighbor, who 
would not let her children attend school unless I 
would stop and take them with me, and return them 
safe home. The Eev. Page Blackburn, when pastor 
at West Elizabeth, years afterwards baptized eleven 
children of that family whose father, at the time I 
took his children with me every Sabbath, was a 
skeptic on religion, but who on relating to me the 
fact in Pittsburgh told me with a feeling of pleasure 
that Brother B. said he never before baptized so 
many members of one family. My sister, who lives 
near where they live today says they are my warm- 
est friends in the locality. 



146 Memoie and Personal Recollection. 

Chapter 3 

Rev. James G. Sansom. 

A Pioneer Preacher of the Pittsburgh Conference 
M. E. Church. 

Uncle Jimmie Sansom, as he was familiarly 
called by all the early Methodists, the first presiding 
elder of the Pittsburgh District, was born in a revo- 
lutionary fort in 1794. His father fought in the 
Eevolutionary War. His brother was killed in the 
War of 1812. 

After a life spent in spreading the Gospel he 
died in his 68th year, April, 1861, at his son's home 
at Webster, Pa., and was buried in the graveyard of 
the stone church he had dedicated years before, 
where he sleeps by the side of his wife, whom he 
loved so dearly. 

In Sansom 's life were blended as many of the 
scenes of early American experience as falls to the 
lot of one man. He combined all those distinguished 
traits of character for which the American sires 
were noted. To the strong, healthy, physical power 
was added a fine personal appearance, which gave a 
peculiar dignity to him in his chosen profession of 
the ministry. In that early day the itinerant minis- 
ter 's calling necessitated deeds of heroism and per- 
sonal sacrifice to which our present day preachers 
are strangers. Sansom 's first circuit extended from 
Baltimore to Pittsburgh, requiring three months to 
visit all his appointments. He had to cross the 
Allegheny Mountains at that day by the Indian 
paths that were blazed in trees along the way. Fre- 
quently he was caught out in the woods where he 
would shelter under some friendly tree, not even dar- 
ing to kindle a fire for fear of attracting the enemy. 



Memoik and Peksonal Recollection. 147 

Uncle Jimmie was pre-eminently a man of one Book. 
He had no taste for any other. His education was 
very limited, but was made up in the quality so much 
needed for a minister of the Gospel, the lack of which 
(in the writer's judgment) makes many of our more 
highly educated preachers mere boobies, alongside 
of Sansom, and accounts for empty pews in all our 
Protestant Churches today. Sansom meditated day 
and night upon the Bible. His voice seemed as if it 
had been especially intended to captivate the ear and 
heart. If he ever failed in producing the desired 
effect in preaching he would sing as he only could 
sing; some favorite hymn and set on fire the enthu- 
siasm of the congregation. His last appointment by 
the Pittsburgh Conference was intended as an 
honorary one, being appointed as an assistant to 
Christ's Church, Pittsburgh, the only church in the 
Conference that could not find among the three or 
four hundred preachers in the conference a minister 
adapted to its peculiar needs, but insisted upon 
special transfers. Uncle Jimmie Sansom came to 
his appointment and stayed two or three weeks. I 
was standing with my wife in my door looking at the 
people getting off the car which had stopped at the 
station when my wife said: " There is Uncle 
Jimmie". I started to assist him in getting off the 
car, as he was getting feeble with age, and reaching 
out his hand he said: ''Jimmie, I am coming out to 
stay with you and Lizzie, until I finish writing my 
book. If I stayed in the City another week I would 
have died physically, spiritually and eternally". 
This was the evening Fort Sumpter was fired upon. 
My wife and I were trying to make a flag when he 
arrived, but not knowing how to arrange the stars, 
Sansom, (who had been born under its folds) showed 
us how to put the stars and stripes in place. Hav- 
ing gotten his consent, I went down to the village 
(where the people had come from all over the coun- 



148 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

try to hear the war news), and announced that he 
would preach in the Port Perry Church morning 
and evening. This insured a house full of people. 
The Covenanters came from their own services, 
which were held a mile away at Turtle Creek, closing 
at 3 :00 P. M., and waited until the evening service 
began, they having fully three hours to wait and a 
mile to walk home after our services were over at 
9:00 P. M. His honor, Judge Mellon 's father had 
been expelled from the Covenanter Church forty 
years before for allowing Uncle Jimmie Sansom to 
preach in an unfinished dwelling he was building. 
This incident created a strong feeling of friendship 
between the Judge and Sansom, which made them 
friends while Sansom lived. I had hoisted my flag 
Sunday morning over the church. A pro-slavery 
Democratic seeing the flag waving from the Church 
dome, asked me if it was a recruiting office. Some 
of the conscientious members thought I was carry- 
ing things too far. I told Sansom when he came 
that I thought I had made a mistake. He said: 
i i Never mind, I will let you out when through 
preaching". He said: "I was born in a Revolu- 
tionary Fort ; my father fought in the Revolutionary 
War, my oldest brother was killed under General 
Jackson, in battle of New Orleans, in 1812. My 
father's body has moulded into dust, my brother's 
ashes have blown to the winds. That flag has floated 
on every sea, upon the American vessels, and is re- 
spected by all Nations. It has remained for our 
own American citizens to attempt to pull it down and 
call it a filthy rag. It is a fit emblem to wave over a 
Christian Church. I want to see that flag wave over 
the American nation until the Angel Gabriel, shall 
pronounce time no more, and when He calls the 
sleeping Nations from the dead I want my father and 
brother (who gave their lives for the liberties we 
have enjoyed), on waking from their graves to be- 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 149 

hold that flag waving over the American people as a 
memento to God's long suffering to their children". 
It is unnecessary to say that when he had finished 
this peroration the writer, felt relieved. Sansom 
preached again at night from the text: "I counsel 
thee to buy of me gold, tried in the fire", etc., Rev. 
iii :18. This sermon even exceeded the morning dis- 
course. He stayed with the writer and was work- 
ing upon his biography until Thursday, when he 
went to Brownsville, Pa, to preach the funeral ser- 
mon of a lady whom he had taken into the church 44 
years before. He preached the funeral sermon in 
the morning and preached again in the evening. 
While preaching in the evening he took sick in the 
middle of his sermon and had to stop. The next 
day he took the boat and went to his sons, who were 
living at the old homestead at Webster, on the 
Monongahela river a few miles below Brownsville. 
He died on Thursday, the day he intended to be 
back at the writer's home. His last words were: 
"Tell, the brothers of the Pittsburgh Conference I 
know in whom I have believed". 

In 1843, the Rev. Zackariah Coston, a Methodist 
preacher, owned the Braddocks Field Farm. A 
camp-meeting was held just above where the writer 
lives, it being the first camp-meeting that I remem- 
ber of. Sansom was the presiding elder. He tried to 
have other preachers on the camp ground to preach 
the morning sermon. They all declined, and San- 
som was compelled to fill the pulpit and preached 
from the text on Ezekial's vision of the valley of 
dry bones. It was a remarkable sermon. Captain 
James Hendrickson, who owned a little packet boat 
after the Monongahela river was slacked, brought 
down the people from McKeesport to the camp- 
meetings. Captain Hendrickson, like all boatmen of 
that day, was noted for his profanity. I remember 
when the wind would blow his boat crosswise at the 



150 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

locks in attempting to enter the lock, he would look 
up at the skies and curse God. The Captain was in 
the congregation, and heard this sermon, and it 
made such an impression upon him that as the peo- 
ple gathered around the spring after the meeting 
had closed, the Captain said: "I own that boat down 
at the wharf, and my home in McKeesport, which 
cost me $5,000. I would be willing to bet it against 
$500 that J. G-. Sansom can beat any man in the 
world preaching, and I will allow them to take in 
the lawyers and the doctors. It was said of Captain 
Hendrickson that while he never made a confession of 
religion he was never afterwards heard to give way 
to the use of profanity, and when Sansom in his 
presiding eldership had occasion to visit McKees- 
port, the Captain always insisted upon him stopping 
at his home. My father-in-law was a Baptist. In 
that early day the Methodists and the Baptists used 
to have very strong controversies over baptism, and 
as a rule the Baptists were prejudiced against the 
Methodists, especially the Methodist preachers. As 
long as my father-in-law lived, I never heard him in 
a conversation about preachers in which he would 
not refer to that sermon, the like of which he never 
heard before or since. 

In 1868, 1 was fixing up a Christmas tree for my 
children, my front door bell rang. I went to the 
door and opened it and a gentleman was standing 
there, who said: "I have come from Eock Is- 
land, 111. Your brother-in-law requested me to 
stop and see you". I invited him in. Before com- 
ing in he said : l i The last day I was in Pennsylvania, 
25 years ago this summer, I attended a camp-meet- 
ing just above here, and heard a man named Rev. 
Sansom preach on 'Ezekial's vision of the dry 
bones' ". "I have never heard a sermon in my life 
equal that one". I said: "What Church do you be- 
long to?" He said: "I am a Baptist". I said: 



Memoie and Peesonal Recollection. 151 

"You are the second Baptist I know who has never 
forgotten that sermon ' ', naming my father-in-law as 
the other. A year or so after, I was talking to an- 
other man, who said : " I remember when I was a 
boy there was a camp-meeting up there in Lauck's 
Grove. One Sunday morning as I came to the top 
of the hill, I heard the sweetest voice I ever heard in 
my life ; I followed the sound of that voice down to 
the camp meeting. The Rev. James Gr. Sansom, 
was preaching from 'Ezekial's vision of the dry 
bones'. I have never heard such a sermon nor such 
an effect produced on a congregation since". I re- 
plied: "John you are the third Baptist who has 
never forgotten that sermon". In 1893, one Sab- 
bath morning, I was leading Class Meeting in Wes- 
ley Chapel, just below where the camp-meeting was 
held. One of the oldest of the citizens of Braddock, 
three-score years ago, a famous old shoe-maker, who 
made the first shoes some of the oldest citizens of 
Braddock had worn, and who to the present genera- 
tion is only known by traditions as Grandpap Fink. 
The old man, small in stature, head erect, hair white 
as snow, clean-shaven face, with a black frock coat 
buttoned tightly across his breast, a bandana hand- 
kerchief tied loosely around his neck, cane in hand 
— a typical old Methodist of 50 years ago — walked 
up the aisle of Wesley Chapel, North Braddock, and 
took his seat in the "amen corner", a stranger to all 
in the house. Who was he, where did he come 
from? The writer felt that an old-time Methodist in 
search of old-time Methodism was in our midst. 
We did not have to sit long, as the sequel proved. 
The service that morning was an old fashioned 
Methodist experience meeting — just what the old 
gentleman was looking for. When he entered we 
were singing that old hymn of Charles Wesley, the 
Marseilles of Methodism : 



152 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

A charge to keep I have, 
A God to glorify, 
A never dying soul to save, 
And fit it for the sky. 

This awakened in the old man all the tires and 
emotions of bygone days. The first opportunity 
found him on his feet with a face radiant with joy- 
ful emotion, his voice quivering with age and pent- 
up delight. He sang out in the sweetest tone : "Oh, 
glory be to God ; Oh, glory be to God ' \ " My soul is 
thrilled this morning by the singing of that grand 
old hymn, as it has not been since the morning I at- 
tended a camp-meeting just above where this house 
stands, 50 years ago this summer. I heard Uncle 
Jimmie Sansom preach a sermon on 'EzekiaPs 
vision of the dry bones \ I have never been in such 
a meeting since. I was so happy I could not tell 
whether I was in my body or out of my body. I 
feel just that way this morning, and I know none but 
the Saviour could or would make me so happy. I 
am over 80 years old ; this old body is nearly worn 
out, but my soul blooms with immortal youth, and I 
shall soon be extenuated from the toils of earth and 
dwell in my immortal home. 

The next Sabbath I was leading class as usual, 
when another stranger came into the Chapel, walk- 
ing up the aisle, taking a front seat, We all sus- 
pected we had another visitor in search of old-time 
Methodism. 

On the first opportunity he arose and started 
off his testimony with :" I heard you had an old- 
fashioned Methodist meeting here and I walked from 
Wilmerding this hot morning, and I am not disap- 
pointed. As I came over the hill, the birds were 
singing and all nature seemed to be praising God, 
and when I entered this Chapel and heard the first 
verse of that old hymn, my mind went back over my 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 153 

life to the summer of 1843, at a camp-meeting held in 
the grove above this chapel, where I was born again 
of the Spirit. At that meeting I fell into a trance 
(trances were of common occurrence in those days 
at Methodist and Presbyterian revivals). My re- 
deemed spirit seemed to leave the body and soared 
away above the sun, moon, and stars, and all the 
planets, until I reached a beautiful river, where I 
stood while an angelical-looking person approached 
with a boat and bid me step in, and conducted me 
across to the Eden of Love. My beautiful conductor 
showed me a great white throng, who had washed 
their robes in the Blood of the Lamb. They had 
come up through great tribulations and w T ere casting 
their crowns at His feet. After beholding the King 
in His beauty, my conductor bid me step in a little 
boat, conducted me back across the river and down 
to earth again, when I awoke to find it all a dream. I 
said who could give me such a delightful vision but 
my Good Heavenly Father. An evil spirit would 
not if it could. That vision has cheered my soul 
when in deep sorrow for 50 years, and this morning 
I am anxiously awaiting the return of that little 
boat, and my beautiful guard to conduct me home. 
This was that old veteran and stranger 's testimony 
that morning, given in a way that brought forth the 
earnest shouts and hearty amens of the old pilgrims 
present. As he took his seat an old mother in Israel 
who herself had passed the three-score-and-ten mile 
post, struck up and sang : 

The Way- Worn Traveler. 

I saw a way-worn traveler 

In tattered garments clad, 
And struggling up the mountain, 

It seemed that he was sad : 
His back was ladened heavy, 

His strength was almost gone : 



154 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

Yet he shouted as he journeyed, 
Deliverance will come. 

Chorus. 

Then palms of victory, crowns of glory, 
Palms of victory I shall wear. 

The summer sun was shining, 

The sweat was on his brow, 
His garments worn and dusty, 

His step seemed very slow; 
But he kept pressing onward, 

For he was wending home, 
Still shouting as he journeyed, 

Deliverance will come. 

Chorus : — 

The songsters in the arbor, 

That stood beside the way, 
Attracted his attention, 

Inviting his delay ; 
His watchword being "Onward", 

He stopped his ears and ran, 
Still shouting as he journeyed, 

Deliverance will come. 

Chorus : — 

I saw him in the evening, 

The sun was bending low, 
He's overtopped the mountain 

And reached the vale below; 
He saw the golden city 

His everlasting home, 
And shouted loud "Hosanna! 

Deliverance had come. 

Chorus : — 

While gazing on that city, 
Just o 'er the narrow flood, 



Memoik and Personal Recollection. 155 

A band of holy angels 

Came from the throne of God; 

They bore him on their pinions, 
Safe o'er the dashing foam, 

And joined him in his triumph — 
Deliverance had come. 

We Sang a Hymn Composed on Sansom's 
Conversion. 

Rev. Dr. Hunter, one of the early editors of the 
Pittsburgh Christian Advocate, and President of 
Meadville College, is the author of this hymn; com- 
posed on Sansom's relation of his experience. Dr. 
Hunter said it required very little changing to put it 
into verse. 

1. " There is a spot to me more dear, 

Than native vale and mountain; 
A spot for which affection's tear 

Springs grateful from its fountain. 
'Tis not where kindred souls abound, 

Though that is almost heaven; 
But where I first my Saviour found, 

And felt my sins forgiven. 

2. Hard was my toil to reach the shore, 

Long tossed upon the ocean ; 
Above me was the thunder's roar, 

Beneath the wave's commotion; 
Darkly the pall of night was thrown, 

Around me, faint with terror : 
In that dark hour how did my groan, 

Ascend for years of error! 

3. Sinking and panting for breath, 

I knew not what help was near me ; 
And cried, "Oh! save me Lord, from death, 
Immortal Jesus, hear me ' '. 



156 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

Then quick as thought I felt him mine, 

My Saviour stood before me, 
I saw His brightness round me shine, 

And shouted Glory! Glory! 

4. sacred hour! O hallowed spot! 

Where love divine first found me ; 
Wherever falls my distant lot, 

My heart shall linger round thee ; 
And when from earth I rise to soar, 

Up to my home in heaven, 
Down will I cast my eyes once more, 

Where I was first forgiven". 

This description gives you but a faint idea of 
that scene. When the old pilgrim first put in his 
appearance, he was an entire stranger to everyone in 
the house. His aged appearance and dust-covered 
clothes, staff in hand (having walked rather than 
desecrate the Sabbath day by riding on the train), in 
his testimony he said that he had heard there were 
some old-time Methodists that worshipped down 
near where he had attended a camp-meeting 50 years 
before, and how the birds singing, as he came over 
the hills, had put his soul in a frame for such a 
meeting as this. This, with the singing by an old 
mother in Israel, a song that no one but herself 
knew, and in which they could only join in singing a 
chorus, you have a religious scene such as used to 
make glad the hearts of old Methodists in days gone 
by, and to which modern Methodists are entire 
strangers. 

It was not necessary to say the old man felt af 
home and that a scene was witnessed seldom seen on 
this shore, and that those present felt a little nearer 
Heaven than ever before. The old pilgrim visited 
the Class quite frequently for awhile and then 
stopped. He did not put in an appearance for over 



Memoik and Personal Recollection. 157 

six months, when one morning, as when he made his 
first trip, he came marching up the aisle as the min- 
ister, who had never seen him, was in the middle of 
his sermon. He looked tired and in a few moments 
seemed overcome and fell asleep. He had walked 
from Brushton to Braddock to tell the class that he 
saw his little boat and his beautiful conductor push- 
ing out from the other shore, to come and bring him 
to his long-looked-for haven of rest. He began his 
testimony as he did on his first trip with * ' Glory be 
to God". "That old hymn, 'A charge to keep I 
have', sounds as sweet to my ears this morning as 
the first time I entered this chapel. I have kept my 
charge, I have finished my course, I have come to tell 
you for the last time that I saw my little boat and 
beautiful conductor start to bring me to that beauti- 
ful place he showed me when I was converted in the 
grove above this chapel in 1843. I did not think I 
would have the opportunity of ever coming to see 
you again, but I am here, as happy as mortal can be. 
I want to meet all you dear friends that have given 
me such delight, in that beautiful place, to where I 
expect to go ' '. When he sat down the verse, ' ' We 
will wait till Jesus comes and we will be gathered 
home", was sung with a will. This caused the old 
man to spring to his feet, give one or two joyous ex- 
pressions, and he fell prostrated upon the floor. He 
was quickly picked up by two brothers nearby. His 
appearance was that of a man who, if not passed 
away, was passing away. He stopped over for the 
evening service, but did not have anything to say. 
He had delivered his message. He went back in the 
morning to his daughters, the little boat and his con- 
ductor had arrived, and the old pilgrim, weary of 
life, stepped in, bid earth adieu, and went to be i ' for- 
ever with the Lord. Amen, so let it be ' '. 



158 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

Life from the dead is in that word — 
>Tis immortality. 
Here in the body pent, 

Absent from Him we roam, 
Yet nightly pitch our moving tent, 

A day's march nearer home. 



Chapter 4 

IMPRESSIONS OF CUBA. 

From a Trip Made in 1904. 

In December, 1904, my wife and I, with our son- 
in-law, Will Yost, went to Cuba to visit his 2,300 acre 
stock farm on which he keeps 2,800 head of cattle. 
When Will asked us to go and visit his new planta- 
tion, I confess it was with some misgiving as to the 
risk involved, that I consented to go. I had espec- 
ially in my mind the stories read in our Protestant 
books about Catholics and the Spanish Inquisition, 
the furnaces in which Protestants had been burned 
up, etc., as also the horrible stories in the American 
newspapers. 

I assure you I was not expecting to find a higher 
state of civilization than I had seen before. The 
people all seemed to be members of one race, judg- 
ing from their kindness to each other — Negro 
Cubans, Spanish Cubans, Indian Cubans. I did not 
hear an unkind word from any one. I could not see 
a single instance in the eight days we were there of 
the bad treatment Protestants received from Roman 
Catholics, although on the lookout for it. I did not 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 159 

see a man under the influence of liquor nor smell 
liquor on a single person's breath. I had at the 
station and on trains seen large crowds of people 
waiting to get their turn for tickets, but no disorder 
or evidence of incivility. I did not see a quarrel, 
even among the children playing on the streets. 
There, the little boys play by themselves and the 
girls by themselves. A young man and his girl do 
their courting in this way : They have no glass in 
their windows, the latter being closed up with half- 
inch round iron which are about three inches apart. 
This lets light and air into the house. The house 
fronts on the three foot pavement of a street about 
ten feet wide. Through the bars the young people 
do their courting, the young man on the pavement in 
front of the window, and the young lady inside. 
When they decide they love each other enough to get 
married, then the young man is admitted into the 
house and they finish up their courtship in presence 
of the mother, but never alone. The result of this 
is that they do not have any illegitimate children, 
nor any divorces. There are no locks on their bed 
room doors, and we were not there a day until my 
wife felt so safe and at rest that she would go out 
for a walk leaving her seal skin sack lie around in 
her room. 

I said to Herman Yost, Will's nephew, (who had 
been there about a year) "Why, Herman, this is as 
near to heaven as any place I have ever been in". 
1 ' I have not seen a man under the influence of liquor 
since I have been in Cuba. I spent two days in 
Havana sight seeing, and did not see a man under 
the influence of liquor or smell liquor since I have 
been in Cuba ' \ Herman replied : " I have been here 
a year and I have not seen a drunken man, either". I 
asked : ' ' Can they not get liquor ? ' ' and he replied : 
"I guess they could if they wanted to — I don't know 
of any law prohibiting it". 



160 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

Chapter 5 

Tkip Down the Rtver to New Orleans in 1906. 

In the Spring of 1906, taking a desire to re- 
visit the scenes of my early days on the river, and 
see what changes had taken place, my wife and I 
took passage on a small stern wheel boat. We found 
there were no longer the first class passenger boats 
that used to ply on the river. As the boat stopped 
along the way to take on freight, it afforded me an 
excellent chance to see the improvements that had 
taken place, in which forests had been converted into 
villages, towns and cities. 

Our Granddaughter took the train and overtook 
us at Point Pleasant. Finding Ma, had all the pleasure 
she desired from a slow coach of a boat, she and our 
Granddaughter took a train home from Cincinnati 
and I continued down the river, stopping at the dif- 
ferent places where the old-time coal boatmen dis- 
posed of their cargoes. On attempting to find some 
of my old acquaintances, I found they were all dead 
or had emigrated South, and I could not find a single 
one of my old friends of yore. 

Remarkable Effect of Sermon I Read on Two 
Boats. 

On Palm Sunday, April, 1906, the clerk of the 
boat came to me and said: "Are you a preacher !" 
I said: "No, I am not a preacher nor the son of a 
preacher. My wife makes me wear a white necktie 
to preserve my collars and people take me for a 
preacher ". He replied: "We have ten holiness 
women on board going to Nashville, Tenn., to hold 
a holiness convention, and they thought you were a 
preacher and they would like to hold a service". I 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 161 

said : ' ' Well, I can get them up a service if that is all 
they want". "What kind of a service will you 
hold", the clerk asked. I said: "Did you not see 
that Salvation Army man and wife and lass? I am 
the man who introduced the Salvation Army into the 
United States and I will ask them to hold service for 
you". This they attempted to do, but being recent 
converts, they started the singing too high and broke 
down, making a failure of it, and the Captain 
seemed much displeased. Rising to my feet I said : 
"I have a copy of Dr. Clark's sermon on "The 
Resurrection ' and this being Palm Sunday, it will be 
very appropriate to read it". I then struck up 
"Jesus Lover of My Soul", the Holiness delegates 
and passengers immediately taking it up, and I 
never heard that old hymn sung with more melody 
and power. By the time the last line of the second 
verse was finished, there were very few dry eyes. It 
took me several minutes to get control of my emo- 
tions enough to read the sermon. After I had read 
it, "Rock of Ages" was sung with the same effect, 
after which we had an old-time Methodist Love 
Feast, and I don't remember ever enjoying a greater 
feast of good things. 

The interest and results that followed the read- 
ing of this sermon to the large number of passengers 
on board the steamboat, and later on, the steamship 
en route to New York was quite remarkable, and a 
literal fulfillment of 1st Cor. 1 :27-31. 

Besides the delegation of holiness women, among 
the passengers were persons from New York City, 
Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Wheeling, Colum- 
bus, Cincinnati, Louisville, Paducah, Evansville, 
Nashville, Memphis, Vicksburg, New Orleans, Hous- 
ton, Tex., San Francisco, and Milwaukee. It was 
not until I arrived home and received from different 
localities requests for a copy of the sermon that I 
learned of the remarkable effect it had on those who 



162 Memoie aistd Personal Recollection. 

heard it, as they were all entire strangers to me. On 
my return home, May 5th, I found a letter from one 
of the holiness women (the mother of the clerk and 
pilot of the steamboat) reading: — 

"I know you will be pleased to learn that* 
the reading of that sermon has resulted in the 
conversion of both my sons. Will you kindly 
send me a copy of same ? ' ' 

The next day I received a letter from a man in 
San Francisco to the effect that it had resulted in 
his conversion ; and that he had organized two or 
three holiness bands, also asking me to send him a 
copy of the sermon. 

The following morning, I received still another 
letter from a traveling salesman, dated Milwaukee, 
Wis., requesting a copy of the sermon, stating it had 
been the means of his conversion and that he had 
started to organize several holiness bands in differ- 
ent parts of the country. 

Second Reading of Sermon on Boat Bound for 
New York. 

At New Orleans I decided to return home by 
way of steamship to New York. The following Sab- 
bath was Easter Sunday, and the same mysterious 
Providence led to my being asked to conduct ser- 
vices on board ship out on the ocean. I knew no one 
on the ship, but the Captain saw my white necktie 
and asked me if I was a preacher. I told him 
"No!" that I was not a preacher nor the son of a 
preacher, but an old Methodist Class Leader. He 
said to me : "Our boat is an Episcopal boat and we 
are in the habit of holding services on the Sabbath 
but our Chaplain stopped over in New Orleans. ' ' I 
told him that I could hold the same service for him 
that I had on the steamboat on the Ohio River the 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 163 

Sabbath before, and he said he wished I would do so. 
Reading this same sermon on board the steam- 
ship created no less interest, and eternity alone will 
reveal all the results. A retired Admiral of the 
United States Navy and his wife and mother-in-law, 
were among the passengers on the steamship. At 
the conclusion of the sermon, the Admiral took me 
by the hand saying: "Mr. Corey, I have been a 
sailor on the seas for 55 years, attending religious 
services every Sabbath, but this is the most interest- 
ing service I have ever attended". I received a let- 
ter from the Admiral some time afterwards, accom- 
panied by a photograph of himself and wife, which 
reads as follows : — 

"My wife and mother-in-law talk about 
nothing but the sermon. Will you please send 
me a copy of it?" 

A multi-millionaire Unitarian of Boston, Mass., 
also took me by the hand saying: "Mr. Corey, I 
would give one hundred dollars if my wife could 
have heard that sermon" — adding that she had gone 
home by rail to avoid sea-sickness. He came to the 
hotel where I stayed in New York City and insisted 
on my letting him get several typewritten copies of 
the sermon made to take home with him. 

I have no doubt that when Adam Clark arises 
from the dead and takes his place among the glori- 
fied, that quite a large number will greet him as the 
instrument used of God, in their Salvation as the re- 
sult of his sermon on "The Resurrection". If I had 
the ear of all our Methodist preachers, I would try 
to persuade them to try once a quarter for one year 
the reading of this sermon on the Sabbath morning 
of their sacramental service, and compare the re- 
sults with any other year of their ministerial lives. 



164 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

Chapter 6 

MY TRIP TO HOLY LAND IN 1912. 

February 6th, 1912. In company with my wife 
and daughter, Mrs. Mary E. Yost, I left my home in 
Braddock on the 10:09 P. M. train for East Liberty 
Station where we took the 10 :40 train, Eastern Ex- 
press, for Philadelphia. Our Granddaughters, 
Elizabeth L. Weimer, Margaret J. and Rachel Eliza- 
beth Yost, and Grandson, John James Yost, accom- 
panied us to East Liberty and saw us safely aboard 
the train. Margaret Jane Yost on her way back to 
school at Bryn Mawr College, accompanied us to 
Philadelphia, where we arrived on time, February 
7th, at 7:00 A. M. 

February 7 th, 1912. We ate our breakfast at 
the depot and saw Margaret safely aboard the 8:15 
A. M. train for college. Left Philadelphia at 9 :00 
A. M., arriving at New York, 11 :00 A. M. We took 
our baggage in an automobile direct to the steamship 
Arabic, taking possession of our staterooms. We 
then started for the Holland House on Fifth Avenue, 
where we took rooms for the day. The day was 
spent in sight-seeing, visiting the M. E. C. Book 
Rooms, 150 Fifth Avenue, the Mission, and viewed 
the paintings on the walls and photographs of the 
eminent Bishops, Preachers, Laymen, and Lay- 
women who planted Methodism on the Western Con- 
tinent. None of these impressed us more deeply 
than Rev. Daniel Curry, D. D., the most distin- 
guished editor and ablest writer of the Christian 
Advocate. At 5 :30 P. M. we were on board the ship 
for a night's sleep before starting on the cruise for 
Palestine. Tired out, in our beds at 7 :35, and sound 
asleep before 8:00 P. M. 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 165 

February 8th, 1912. After a good night's rest, 
we awoke at 4 :30 A. M. We lay awake twenty min- 
utes, when Ma tried to get out of her bed. She made 
many attempts and failed, and I got up to assist her, 
but she could not get our of the narrow bunk. Min- 
nie then got up and it took both of us all we could do 
to get her out of bed. She said : ' ' Pa, I think I had 
better go back home ; I can never get in and out of 
bed". Minnie and I consented. We only had half 
an hour to get ready for a cab, and she then started 
home. Promptly at 6 :00 A. M. the ship weighed 
anchor. It is now 9 :20 P. M. and we retire to bed, 
with nothing of note to write. Sea is quite rough 
and the ship rocks considerably, but no one seasick 
that I have heard of. The air is cold and chilly. 

February 9th, 1912. Awoke at 4 :30 A. M. and 
lay in bed until 6 :00 A. M., when I got up and took a 
walk on deck. The waves were rolling high, with 
the ship rocking like a cradle, but no sign of seasick- 
ness. Waiting for Minnie to go to breakfast. At 
10:15 A. M. I received a wireless message saying: 
"Mother arrived safely home", signed "Mellon". 
At 10:00 P. M., "I lay me down to sleep; I pray the 
Lord my soul to keep ; If I die before I wake, I pray 
the Lord my soul to take. For Christ's sake, 
Amen ! ' ' 

February 10th y 1912. 2 :30 A. M. " Guide me, O 
thou great Jehovah ; I am weak but thou are mighty. 
Hold me with thy powerful hand". 7:00 A. M., 
have had breakfast, and lost one of my eye glasses. 
At 12:00 noon, a delegation of Master Masons call 
for a meeting at 5 :00 P. M. in the library. They 
may have gotten one of my booklets "Restore the 
Ancient Land Marks" which I have been distribut- 
ing on the ship. They had card parties and dancing 
galore. 

We have 65 preachers and not less than 500 lay- 
men on board, but no religious services, as yet. One 



166 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

woman boasts that she is a Bible Class teacher in a 
Sunday School in Pennsylvania, but she was a promi- 
nent leader in the card parties. I quoted a few 
texts of scripture to her, to which she replied: 
" Times have changed since they were written". 
10 :00 P. M., Now I lay me down to sleep. 

February 11th, 1912. Sunday. 6 :00 A. M. A 
good night's sleep. " Bless the Lord, my soul, and 
all that is within me; Bless His holy Name" — 
"Make this one of the days of the Son of Man, for 
Thine own name sake". Religious services are to 
be held at 10 :00 A. M., also this evening, 6 :00 P. M. 

The sea has been calm all day. We had preach- 
ing at 10 :00 A. M. At 6 :00 P. M., a Lutheran min- 
ister preached a very eloquent sermon to a large 
congregation. 10 :00 P. M., Now I lay me down to 
sleep. 

Storm at Sea. 

February 12th, 1912. 4:00 A. M. "I will praise 
Thee ; where shall I Thy praise begin 1 ' ' 

We received a wireless message of the approach 
of a big storm. To appreciate what this meant to 
2,000 people, one has to be on board a ship and wit- 
ness the billows sending waves over the second deck 
of the ship. Many passengers are seasick, several 
being bodily hurt by being dashed against walls and 
falling down stairs from the rocking and learing of 
the ship. Five were so badly hurt that they were 
put off at Fulchan in a hospital, where reports say 
that they died. 

After being awake all night, Minnie and I ren- 
dering help to those needing it, I lay down on a 
lounge in my stateroom, the latter being 61 feet 
above sea level, and fell asleep. The upper sash of 
my window was lowered to admit the air. I was 
dreaming I was singing Bishop Heber's old hymn as 
unctiously as ever I sang it in church. Water 



Memoik and Peksonal Recollection. 167 

splashing through my window struck me in the face, 
drenching me from head to feet, wetting the cot on 
which I lay, and filled water an inch deep on the 
carpet. I naturally sprang to my feet, when the 
learing of the ship threw me towards the upper 
berth and I threw up my hands in time to protect my 
face. My first conscious thought was that the ship 
was sinking and it was all up with me. Looking 
back over my shoulder and seeing no more water 
pouring threw the window, I knew it was only a 
splash of a big wave. 

Two stewards, stationed in the hall to render 
assistance to any in need of help, asked me if I was 
hurt. I said: "No, but I'm good and wet". The 
man exclaimed: "0, the ship is lost; that wave was 
75 feet high ' \ On seeing that they were too much 
frightened to be able to assist any one, my flat boat 
experience of never getting scared until the danger 
was over (it being an adage among the flat boat 
pilots that if a pilot lost his head, he was sure to lose 
his boats), I set myself to compose the stewards. 1 
said to them : " I was dreaming that I was singing 
Bishop Heber's Hymn and had just reached the last 
verse when the water struck me in the face. Now, 
I will sing the last verse to you, and struck up 
"Waft, waft, ye winds the story, and you, ye waters 
roll, Till, like a sea of Glory, it spreads from pole to! 
pole : Till 'er our ransomed nature, the Lamb for 
sinners slain, Redeemer, King, Creator, in bliss re- 
turn to reign". The woman (a Catholic) said: 
" Oh ! Mr. Corey, that is the most beautiful song 1 
ever heard". 

They told the other sailors and passengers of 
my experience, etc., and it spread over the ship. 
From that on, (when I went ashore to visit the cities 
on leaving our ship) no one could possibly have re- 
ceived kinder treatment. When I went ashore in 
the little boat provided to transport us from the ship 



168 Memoir and Personal Eecollection. 

to the wharf of the city, the sailors would say: 
"Here comes the 80 year old ' Fresh Water Tar\ 
He is always first on board, and first off the boats". 
An American millionaire passenger spoke up and 
said: "You praise him for his agility in getting off 
the boats and climbing the stairs. I will tell you 
what I admire him for — I admire his intellect. He 
is an intellectual Giant". Looking at him, and see- 
ing I did not know the large fine looking gentleman, 
paying me such an undeserved tribute, I spoke up 
and said : ' ' My friend, this is a case of ' distance lend- 
ing enchantment'. If you were home among my 
neighbors where I have lived for the past 72 years, 
you would learn that they have never discovered 
that they had an intellectual giant in their midst". 
He replied : ' ' He was there, all the same ' '. I said to 
him : " If so, it is a case of a Prophet not being with- 
out honor, save in his own country and in his own 
house". 

February 17th, 1912. Our first stop was at City 
of Funchal, the Capitol of Maderia, a city of 60,000 
inhabitants. The city lies on an abrupt slope with 
mountain peaks towering 5,000 feet high, which are 
ascended by sleds drawn by oxen, and going down, 
you slide on sleds guided by two natives. The visit 
to this island, so seldom seen by American travelers, 
is of surpassing interest. 

February 20th, 1912. Our next stop was at 
Cadiz, Spain. This is the famous seaport from 
which Columbus set out on his momentous voyage 
of discovery. It is a town of 70,000, looking snowy- 
white, and picturesque; and being almost wholly 
surrounded by the sea, it is often called the l ' Span- 
ish Venice". Its high walls and fortifications, its 
white houses and splendid parks, and the wonderful 
sea view from the Toree de Vigia, or Public Watch 
Tower, all tend to give the observers a feeling of 
being in dreamland. 



Memoie and Personal Becollection. 169 

February 21th, 1912, we reached Seville. Seville 
is 95 miles from Cadiz by rail and has over 150,000 
inhabitants. It is one of the gayest and most 
charming cities in the world. There are many 
places of rare interest in Seville, including the 
Cathedral (one of the handsomest, largest and rich- 
est Gothic churches in all Christendom) the Alcazar, 
the former palace of the Moorish kings with its fam- 
ous Court of the Maidens and its Hall of the Am- 
bassadors, also the Gibraltar, the oldest and most 
beautiful landmark in the city, originally a Prayer 
Tower. 

February 22nd, our next stop, we reached Gib- 
raltar. The British Fortress is considered the 
strongest in the world. It has galleries from two to 
three miles in length tunneled through the solid rock, 
with batteries built at all advantageous points up to 
1,350 feet above the sea. 

February 26th, 1912, was our next stop at Malta, 
capitol of Algeria, and a favorite winter health re- 
sort. Here are seen beautiful specimens of Moorish 
and Byzantine architecture. There is a mixed popu- 
lation of Arabs, Moors, Turks, Bedouins, Negroes 
and Maltese. 

February 29th, 1912, was our next stop at Malta, 
where we inspected the Governor's Palace and the 
Cathedral. 

February 28th, 1912, brought us to Athens, the 
capital and largest city of Greece. We, visited the 
ruins of the temple which is said to be over 2,500 
years old. Cathedrals of the finest architecture in 
the world, and which are over 2,000 years old, are to 
be seen in this ancient city of Greece. 

March 1st, 1912, we reached Constantinople, 
where we stopped four days. This city is the capi- 
tal of Ottoman Empire, situated on the Bosphorous, 
the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmora. It con- 
tains the Palace of the Sultan, and is noted for its 



170 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

mosques. Tcheragan Serai, the chief of the im- 
perial palaces, is a building of immense size, of mar- 
ble, with a luxury and magnificence in its interior 
decoration and arrangement that are unexcelled in 
Europe. 

It was the week of Mohammed's birthday and 
all work was suspended for a week, it being their 
Christmas Holiday. We visited the Mohammedan 
Temple, said to be 300 years in building and to have 
cost over $100,000,000. It is a beautiful building, 
with a dome 105 feet diameter, 184 feet high, and 
having forty arched windows in the base. I noticed 
that in the temple, they have a large flowing foun- 
tain emptying water into a long basin (similar to an 
old-time Methodist mourner's bench) in front of 
which the worshippers kneel and wash out their 
mouths, as the Mohammedan Church requires that 
their members wash out their mouth four times dur- 
ing prayers. 

On our ship there were 65 preachers and a large 
number of Elders and Class Leaders. To relieve 
the monotony, we had religious services every after- 
noon. Dr , a prominent Presbyterian, had 

been chosen to have charge of the services on leav- 
ing Constantinople, and he announced that instead 
of a preaching service, we would have a testimony 
meeting of those who visited the temple so that they 
could give us the impressions made upon them by 
the services in the temple, and he stated that five 
minutes would be allowed each speaker, adding that 
only those who had attended the Mohammedan ser- 
vices would be allowed to speak, and that the invita- 
tion included any Laymen who might wish to givf> 
their views of the service. 

Taking his place at the table, with watch and 
wooden mallet, he gave each speaker five minutes to 
tell his story. A Methodist preacher gave quite ah 
interesting talk, but no one seemed to care to follow 



Memoik and Personal Recollection. 171 

him. After waiting quite awhile, Dr said : 

' * Is there no Layman who visited the temple that will 
give the impression the services made upon him?" 
This gave me the opportunity I had been desiring 
every day of administering a reproof to the large 
number of ministers who paraded the deck daily, 
smoking cigars and cigarettes, and joking and talk- 
ing more like sportsmen than Ministers of the 
Gospel. 

So, arising, I said : ' * The flowing fountain where 
the worshipers wash out their mouths four times 
during prayers, I think would be a good thing for 
our Protestant Churches to adopt. Where the 
Preachers, Elders, and Class Leaders could wash 
out the dirty filthy tobacco juice in their mouths, be- 
fore offering prayer to God". The manner of ex- 
pressing approval of speakers' words was by clap- 
ping of hands, but my words were scarcely uttered 
before there were cries of "Amen!" and the au- 
dience sprang to their feet, the ladies making the 
welkin ring with their approval. It seemed as if 
everyone wanted to express their approval of the 
testimony against the filthy habit. It did not appear 
that they wanted any more testimony and the meet- 
ing closed. 

One old Western farmer, over 81 years of age, 
a Bachelor and Agnostic, who became very rich by 
the discovery of oil on his large tract of land and 
spends his money traveling, attended the service to 
relieve the monotony, and was hardly ever without a 
cigar in his mouth. When asked by a minister: "If 
he did not want to unite with the Church" he had 
replied : "I take no stock in the church; the majority 
of the preachers are hypocrites and ought to be in 
the Penitentiary". Although an entire stranger he' 
came to me and said : ' ' Mr. Corey, if all the preach- 
ers were as honest and outspoken against wrong as 
you are, I would not be an agnostic. I use and have 



172 Memoik and Personal Recollection. 

used tobacco all my life, but I always felt it was a 
useless, filthy habit, and I intend to give it up". On 
leaving the ship, he told me that he had cut it down 
to one cigar a day. 

Trip from Alexandria, Egypt to Cairo. 

On a visit from Alexandria, Egypt, to city of 
Cairo (one of the most beautiful cities I was ever 
in) we passed through the finest landscapes I think 
mortal eye ever rested upon. A tourist from the 
Southern States spoke to me saying: "Is not that 
the most beautiful scenery you ever witnessed ?" 1 
said: "Yes, that excels our fine plantations on the 
Mississippi River, which I used to think had no 
equal in the U. S." He replied: "I am a citizen of 
Nashville, Tenn. I was a soldier in the Confederate 
Army, and have visited every State in the South. I 
never saw any landscape that will compare with 
this". I said: "I am not surprised that the Jews 
revolted against Moses leading them from such a 
fine country as this on the promise of leading them 
to the promised land, and cross over the divided 
waters into the Holy Land, for I have not seen any- 
thing in Palestine to compare with it". 

We visited the ruins of the temples and 
mosques, all of which confirm the Bible Story of the 
experience of the Israelites and their leader, but the 
Bible account of the Egyptians and their conflict 
with the Hebrews is the most reliable to be found 
anywhere. It tells us that Moses lived 120 years, 
his faculties of body and mind not being impaired to 
the last. His eye was not dim, nor his natural force 
abated. (Deut. 34:7). 

From Constantinople we went to the Holy Land. 

March 3rd, 1912. Farewell to City of Con- 
stantinople and Mohamet's Temple. The passage 
through the Bosphorous to the Black Sea, and back 



Memoir and Personal Becollection. 173 

past Constantinople has given us quite a variety of 
scenery. After singing Charles Wesleys favorite 
hymn "Wrestling Jacob", to young people I retire 
to my room. 

March 4th, 1912. We start this A. M. for 
Ephesus. The Moon going down behind the hills as 
we steam into the harbor of Smyrna, presents as 
grand a sight as we looked upon. 12 :00 M., in the 
City of Ephesus, have seen St. Paul's Jail, the Tem- 
ple of Diana lying in ruins. 

March 5th, 1912. Spent writing letters home. 

March 6th, 1912. We start for a six days ' drive 
overland. On Mt. Carmel we stood where Elijah 
challenged the Bail worshippers to call louder on 
their god, as he may have gone on a journey, or is 
asleep. 

March 7th, 1912. At Mount Tabor, Nazareth at 
Valley of Jazareal, Jordan Valley, Sea of Gallilee, 
Capernaum, Mount Gillead, and Mud Houses, with- 
all a beautiful valley. 

March 8th, 1912. Have driven around City of 
Damascus, saw where St. Paul, was let down in a 
basket. The house of Judas Iscariot; Annanias, 
Vast Cemetery, and Mohammed Morgue in which 
John the Baptist is said to be burried. 

March 9th, 1912. Good-bye to City of Damas- 
cus. Snow in sight, 4 :30 P. M. we cross the sea of 
Gallilee in yawls. 6 :15 P. M. at the Hotel Tiberias. 

Sabbath, March 10th, 1912. Attend church, 
visit Capernaum. 12 :00 M. Adieu to Tiberias. We 
start for Nazareth, pass by where Christ preached 
his sermons on the Mount. Saw Mary Magdalene 's 
house, also where Christ converted water into wine. 
Arrived at Nazareth at 6 :00 P. M. 

Monday, March 11th, 1912. Visit Mary's 
kitchen, Joseph's Shop. Stone on which Christ ate 
supper with his disciples. Visited churches of 
Annunciation, Mount of Transfiguration where they 



174 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

attempted to throw Christ over the rocky precipice. 
Arrive at Caif a at 6 :00 P. M., after a cold drive* 
After bidding adieu to the world-wide famous City 
of Nazareth, we are aboard the ship. 

March 12th, 1912. Anchored in Harbor of* 
Joppa. A walk through its filthy streets and 
swarms of beggars tell the story. 12 :30 P. M. off for, 
and at 5 :30 P. M. arrive at the City of Jerusalem. 
One time the most highly revered city in the world. 
A drive in a carriage to the American Colony. Here 
we, for the next two weeks had the best of accommo- 
dation and kind treatment, while we spent the time 
in visiting the scenes of the incarnation life and death 
and resurrection of Him who came to redeem us from 
sin and upon whose love the hopes of humanity de- 
pend. 

March 13th, 1912. Start on our Tour of Pales- 
tine and Egypt. We visit Solomon's Temple, Cal- 
vary's Mountain, Tomb of Christ, The Church of 
Prayer where His prayer in 37 different languages 
adorn the walls, Mount Olivet, Garden of Geth- 
semana, Pisgah's Mountain where Moses stood 
Adam's grave, the Spring where David composed 
the 23rd Psalm, Birth place of Jeremiah, David's 
Mosque, Solomon's Stables. The Church of the 
Sepulcher, Flock of lambs with bushy tails ; summed 
up our first day's visit. 

March 14th, 1912. 12 :00 M. have returned from 
the most satisfactory tour of my entire trip. A sec- 
ond visit to Mount Olivet ; I was in the tomb where 
Christ was laid after his crucifixion in which man 
had never been laid ; also onto Mount Calvary, on 
which he was crucified, and saw the stone from under 
the City for the Temple, also Damascus' Gate, 
Herod's Gate, and pool of Hezekiah. 

March 15th, 1912. We rested up, reading let- 
ters from home and answering same. 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 175 

March 16th, 1912. Visited the City of Bethle- 
hem, saw the manger in which Christ was born ; the 
room in which Joseph was warned to take the young 
child and His Mother to Egypt; also room in which 
the Bible was translated into the vulgar language. 
The well from which David relieved his thirst. 

Sabbath, March 17th, 1912. Attended services 
at the home, 10 :00 A. M. 2 :30 P. M., Attended Mis- 
sion Sabbath school in which three races of children 
are being taught the Christian religion. 

Monday, March 18th, 1912. Took a stroll over 
the City this A. M. and a ride around it on a donkey 
this P. M. I am to hold an old-time Methodist Love 
feast this evening, I hope it may prove a time of re- 
freshing from the presence of the Lord I find John 
Wesley Methodism, is more popular in Jerusalem 
than in Pittsburgh or Braddock. 

March 19th, 1912. We bid adieu to Jerusalem, 
for an excursion into Egypt, passing through the 
birth place of Samson, stopped at Ebenezer, "The 
stone of help". Here I will raise my Ebenezer, 
hitherto by thy help I have come ; and I hope by thy 
good pleasure, I will arrive safe at home. 5,500 
miles from home, among strangers, I never sang 
Ebenezer so sweetly before. Passing through the 
beautiful plain of Sharon and Ramley, the city of 
Joseph who buried our Saviour in his own new 
Tomb, in which man had never been buried. 3 :00 
P. M. on board ship, on our way to Alexandria, 
Egypt. 

March 20th, 1912. After visiting Alexandria, 
we take cars for Cairo passing through the most 
beautiful landscape for 150 miles that mortal eye 
ever rested on. 9 :00 P. M. we are on our way to 
Luxor, 450 miles from Cairo. 

March 21st, 1912. Spent day in visiting the 
ruins of Temples in Luxor, Egypt. They are simply 
indescribable. The lives of Kings and Emperors 



176 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

and Priests, with inscriptions of their lives and 
reign engraved on statutes extending back 4,000 to 
5,000 years ago and only discovered 27 years ago, 
and they're still excavating in search of others. One 
statute discovered 3 weeks ago. There are 500 
young girls with baskets on their heads carrying 
away the dirt, which is being removed in search of 
these ancient relics of past ages. The young girl 
with a bushel basket of dirt on her head singing as 
merrily as a May Bird, and you have a scene diffi- 
cult to describe. 

March 22nd, 1912. I spent the forenoon among 
the tombs of the ancient kings which were quarried 
out in solid limestone rock, 500 to 1,000 feet below the 
surface, some of their statutes 200 feet high, one 
which an earth quake caused to fall weighs 1,000 
tons. The inscriptions were made from three to 
four thousand years before. 

I Read a Sermon at Jerusalem. 

Saturday, March 23rd, 1912. The day before 
we left Jerusalem, two preachers called on me, say- 
ing: "Mr. Corey, we have been appointed by the 
preachers on the ship to notify you that you have 
been chosen to conduct our farewell service and read 
one of your printed sermons". I replied: "What! 
Do you mean to tell me that 65 preachers have 
selected an old John Wesley Layman to read a fare- 
well sermon on leaving the City of Jerusalem? You 
can say that while I appreciate the high honor paid 
me, I have given away all of my printed sermons ' \ 
They replied : ' ' Well, you can get up one that will 
do", and I told them the time was too short. "Make 
it short", they said, and I told them, "You can tell 
them I will do my best, but I have a bad cold; if I 
break down, I will depend on one of you preachens 
to read it for me", and they said: "We will not let 
you stick". 



Memoik and Personal Recollection. 177 

I asked a typewriter at the hotel where I was 
stopping to write a sermon off for me, but he replied 
that he did not do any typewriting on Saturday 
afternoon. Knowing that they do as much writing 
for 25 cents in Jerusalem as costs $1.00 in the U. S., 
I said to him: "I am in a hole, unless you help me 
out ; if you will write a farewell sermon off for me, I 
will pay you one dollar ' \ He consented, and it was 
about 3 :00 P. M. when we got started. I wrote with 
my pencil from memory and he copied it off, it being 
10 :00 P. M. when we finished it. 

The next day at 4:00 P. M. (Sunday) the ser- 
vices were held in the dining room of the American 
Colony. After conducting the opening services, I 
started to cough so badly it was impossible for me 
to read the sermon. I asked two or three of the 
preachers to read it for me, but they shook their 
heads "No". A young lady volunteered to read it 
for me. I do not think there was one of the 65 
preachers, if they had all been present, who could 
have read the sermon with the effect this young lady 
did, and I think she will have some stars in her crown 
from that large congregation of 1,000 to 1,500. After 
the reading of the sermon, I said we would have a 
testimony meeting, which would give us all a chance 
to compare their own experience with what they 
have heard. While I had not been able to get one of 
them to read the sermon, before the young lady 
volunteered, there were from ten to fifteen on the 
floor to tell how well they were pleased with the ser- 
mon. I mention this fact so that no one need to 
fear to take their stand on the old-time Methodist 
doctrines and experiences. 

After leaving Jerusalem, we visited many other 
places of interest on our tour, some of the most im- 
portant places being Alexandria;, Naples, Rome, 
Monte Carlo, England and Ireland, to some of which 
reference is subsequently made. 



178 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

The following letter was received from one of 
my fellow passengers on the Arabic, Dr. Brown, be- 
ing Rector of Calvary Church at Tarboro, N. C. 

Tarboro, N. C, August 17, 1912. 

Mr. J. B. Corey, 
Pittsburgh, Pa, 

Dear Brother : — 

I have been thinking of you often since my re- 
turn, and wondering how you stood the trip home. I 
hope you are well in body and soul, and enjoying the 
Peace of God. I spent two weeks in England and 
had may interesting experiences, which I wish I 
would see you to tell about. 

Here is a picture of you on the sight of St. 
John's church at Ephesus. You recall the circum- 
stances, I suppose. 

I am hard at work, and God has blessed me in it 
in many ways, praise be to Him! 

My recollections of you and your true christian 
faith, and your lifelong testimony to Jesus' love do 
me good, and help me much, and I am glad to be able 
to tell you so. Please remember me in your prayers. 

Yours in Christ, 

Bertram E. Brown. 

My regards to your daughter. 

ROME. 

In the City of Rome, I had the most interesting 
experience of my trip, meeting two persons who im- 
pressed me more than any other people met on my 
tour. They both seemed (so to speak) to fall in love 
with me on sight, or imagine I knew a great deal 
more than I did. 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 179 

Cardinal Bampollo. 

I went to the noted Cathedral in Rome, it being, 
they claim, the oldest Christian Church in the world, 
and heard a man give a very fine sermon. As ex- 
plained below, I have only lately learned that he was 
Cardinal Rampollo. 

After Mass, I wanted to visit the Treasure 
room, where they keep the robes, vestments, and 
jewels of former popes. I found that tickets were 
sold to only a limited number of visitors to the room, 
at $1.00 each, and when I reached the ticket office, I 
was told all the tickets had been sold. 

I turned away disappointed, and while standing 
there, the man whom I had heard preach (Cardinal 
Rampollo) said to me: "Are you a tourist to the 
Holy Land V ' I said I was. * ' Would you not like to 
visit the Treasure Room and see the objects in it", 
he asked. I told him I only had two hours to return 
to my ship and the tickets were all sold. Taking me 
by the arm, he said: "Come with me". We entered 
the room where I had the pleasure of seeing all the 
robes and jewels from St. Peter down to the present 
pope, and I never expect to witness such a display 
of robes and jewels until we enter the Golden Cityi 
above. Cardinal Rampollo 's descriptions and ex^ 
planations were so edifying, that all the other visi- 
tors would leave their own guides and crowd around 
us. 

After spending an hour in the Treasure Room, 
and on reaching the exit, the Cardinal stopped and 
said to me : " I want to ask you two or three ques- 
tions : First, on your tour, what of all you witnessed 
made the deepest impression on your mind?" Taken 
by surprise, I said : ' ' Father, on my trip to the Holy 
Land and in the City of Jerusalem, I was made both 
glad and sad". He quickly replied: "What of all 
you saw pleased you most?" I said: "I was de- 



180 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

lighted in witnessing the footprints of the Saviour 
and the evidence of his compassion for the poor". 
1 ' While I was delighted on visiting the famous 
Cathedrals and Temples, with their walls decorated 
with most beautiful works of art and Mosaic paint- 
ings, yet, it was sad to behold the extreme cases of 
poverty and misery which the Blessed Christ had 
come to rescue our poor fallen humanity from". 

He said: "It is a sin". I said: "Yes, but His 
name was called Jesus because He came to save us 
from our sins". He said: "Yes, but He was re- 
jected and spit upon". 

"What were the scenes of poverty which left 
such a dark impression on your mind?" he asked. 

I replied : " I saw 12 or more strong, able-bodied 
men huddled together in a mud hut, not over 12 feet 
square, one story high, without windows, and only a 
door not over three feet wide to enter it, and a small 
mud hut about six feet square and a small fireplace 
in which to cook their victuals. I also saw a poor 
mother in her bare feet and with clothes scarcely 
covering her nakedness, with a baby about six 
months old on her breast, and leading another child 
about two years old on one hand, and a two bushel 
basket on her head, filled with marketing, for which 
she received about ten cents, our money, for carry- 
ing two or three miles to the residence of the upper 
crust. This sight, Father, took away the pleasure 
I had received in visiting the fine Cathedrals of the 
Moslems with their Mosaic paintings, etc. I could 
not help thinking that in a measure .they might be 
the cause of it". 

The Cardinal quickly and earnestly replied: 
"They are the cause of it". Taking me by the hand, 
he pronounced his benediction in Latin which I could 
not understand. I said: "Father, if we never meet 
on earth, I hope we will meet in Heaven ; you are the 1 
kindest stranger I have ever met". 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 181 

In a large crowd standing at the door a man 
spoke up and said : " Do you know who that was, 
who has shown you so much kindness V I said: 
"He is the kindest stranger I ever met". He re- 
plied: "He came within four votes of being our 
Pope ". "If we had had the deciding of it, he would 
have been our Pope, although we have a very good 
one". 

I never knew the identity of this kind stranger 
until December 17, 1913, when I recognized Cardinal 
Eampollo from a photograph appearing in the Pitts- 
burgh papers giving an account of his death. It is 
simply impossible for me to express the thoughts 
and emotions that flitted through my mind. When 
I first saw his picture in the paper (before reading 
headlines) I thought he was on a visit to the United 
States, and I was going to have the opportunity to 
reciprocate the greatest act of kindness and friend- 
ship shown me by an entire stranger while in Rome, 
and it was with a feeling of sadness I discovered his 
photograph was the heading of his obituary notice. 

Another Acquaintance in Rome. 

My other acquaintance was with a man on sight, 
quite as surprising to me as that of the Cardinal. I 
went to a news-stand to buy a New York Herald or 
London Times, but finding all sold out expressed my 
disappointment. A large, well-dressed gentleman 
spoke up and said: "Are you an Englishman". I 
said: "On one side of the house my great-great- 
great-grandfather was an Englishman ; on the other 
side he was an Irishman, so you see I have a mixture 
of two bloods coursing in my veins, but they seem to 
harmonize on political subjects better than the Irish 
and English do. I am an American, a citizen of the 
United States". He said: "How do the patriotic;* 
respectable class of the 80,000,000 American people 



182 Memoir and Personal Eecollection. 

look upon the personal quarrel between President 
Taft and Theodore Roosevelt?" I replied: "That 
depends upon what you mean by the words ' Re- 
spectable and Patriotic' ". He said: "I mean in- 
telligent men and women who regard their honor and 
good name, and the reputation of their Nation too 
sacred in the eyes of the civilized world to be dis- 
graced as their disgraceful quarrel is doing". I 
said: "The addition of the word ' intelligent ' greatly 
reduces the number of the jury to pass on your ques- 
tion. If you mean by ' intelligent ' the number capa- 
ble of comprehending the effect upon their good 
name, etc., your jury will not exceed ten millions. 
If you mean by l patriotic ', love of country more 
than spoils, you will reduce it to less than five 
million. If you add the words ' Upright and honest' 
and make your inquiry read: ' How do the intelli- 
gent, patriotic, upright, respectable American citi- 
zens of the United States regard the disgrace being 
put upon them by salary grabbers, grafters, treas- 
ury loots, etc.' the number will be so small that the 1 
answer would be that they do not stop to ask what 
they think, and care less". 

The reporter said : "I am a gatherer of news-4 
My business is to learn from the public press of the* 
world the opinions of the various Nations of the 
people in regard to political conditions, social rela- 
tions and religious sentiment, and formulate them) 
into news so as to represent the characteristics of 
the people, the public acts of Kings, Presidents, and 
Rulers are the best index of personal character. My 
business makes it a necessity for me to familiarize 
myself with all the leading newspapers in the world. 
So great is the habit of exaggeration on the part of 
the public press of the United States, that to quote 
from them is equivalent to stamping an article as 
false. Take their figures on statistics on the ques- 
tions of imports and exports to bolster up that un- 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 183 

chivalrous sentiment of making other nations and 
people pay the expense of your own government". 
I replied : ' l That is a very strong indictment of the 
American people in general, and the Public Press. 
That the mass of the American people, in addition 
to ignorance have their share of selfishness cannot be 
denied, but in these respects we have inherited a 
moral principle of a very ancient origin and quite 
universal, but the American people or our Public 
Press is no more avaricious or dishonest than that 
of other nations ' '. The reporter with " I bid you 
good-bye, and hope you will get home safely", said: 
* ' One thing you Americans had better not let your- 
newspapers pick a quarrel with Japan or China, or 
you will find you have stirred up a hornet's nest". 

I did not ask him what his Nationality was. He 
looked more like an Englishman, but from the tone 
and accent of his voice you would have taken him 
for an American, and his expression of countenance 
resembled a Pennsylvania Dutchman. 

John Wesley's Residence and Church. 

Saturday, April 13th, 1912, at London, England, 
I visited John Wesley's residence which he planned 
and superintended its building by carrying bricks", 
etc. Was in the little room in which he spent hours 
in secret prayer in giving the world the sermons and 
doctrines which created the greatest revival of re- 
ligion since the days of the Apostles. 

Sunday, April 14th, 1912, I attended morning 
services in the little church in which he preached 
three sermons a day, six days a week, first service 
at 5 :00 A. M. 

A greater burlesque on John Wesley's Method- 
ism than that service is not possible to conceive. 

In order not to be late for services, I went to 
the church at 9:00 A. M. In the course of a half- 



184 Memoie and Peksonal Recollection. 

hour the Sunday School began to assemble, and 
about ten o 'clock the organ (which Mr. Wesley said 
he had no objection to being in a church, provided it 
was where it could neither be seen or heard, Dr. 
Adam Carke says he would save the price of the 
organ) started off with a voluntary. What he 
played I did not know, nor do I think many of the 
150 present understood or felt any interest in it. At 
the conclusion of the organ performance, although I 
had been advised that a surprise awaited me, I con- 
fess I was not prepared to witness such a travesty 
on what Mr. Wesley had taught the early Methodist 
was necessary to get through the straight gate ; and 
as I witnessed the choir of some ten or fifteen young 
ladies march over the pulpit and take their stand 
behind the preacher, a feeling of sadness took the 
place of gladness, which I, had had at the prospect of 
taking part in an old-time Methodist service in the 
church which Mr. Wesley himself had planned and 
in which he had preached for a third of a century. 

At the close of the service the pastor came down 
and took me by the hand, saying: "Brother Corey, 
how did you enjoy the servicer' I replied: "Dr. T 
am disappointed ; I stopped over expecting I would 
enjoy an old-time Methodist service". He said: 
"Was this not an old-time Methodist service?" I 
told him: "If it was, all John Wesley's sermons and 
writings are fables". He let go my hand, saying: 
"Good-day". 

An elderly, finely dressed lady, decorated in 
latest style, said: "Brother, how did you enjoy the 
service V 9 I replied : " I told your pastor I had come 
expecting the pleasure of enjoying an old-time 
Methodist meeting". She asked: "Is not this an 
old-time Methodist meeting V 9 I said : t ' Fifty years 
ago you would not have been allowed to attend a 
class meeting in this church". "Why not?" said 
she. I replied: "Have your pastor next Sabbath 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 185 

read John Wesley's sermon on dress; your dis- 
cipline, unless you have repealed them, require him 
to read it once a quarter. You are tenfold worse 
back-slidden than the M. E. Church in the U. S." 
She said: "Good-day" and I was allowed to leave 
without any further interrogations. 

" Arabic ' ' , Passengers Tender Congratulations on 
my Eightieth Birthday. 

April 27th, 1912, we landed at 12 :00 M. in New 
York Harbor after three months' absence visiting 
the beautiful cities on my way in and around Pales- 
tine. The sweetest sight and most beautiful land- 
scape on the tour was the green hills of my native 
land ; but the sweetest sight of them all, was when I 
saw my wife and granddaughters on the wharf boat 
waving us a welcome home — Home, Home, Sweet 
Home, there is no place so sweet as Home. 

While we were returning home, on learning that 
April 23rd was my eightieth birthday, Mr. William 
White and Rev. Henry E. Brundage, Pastor of 
Presbyterian Church, Washington, D. C, among our 
tourists, decided to make it one of the most interest- 
ing birthdays of my four score years. They took a 
book among the tourists for their autograph con- 
gratulations. I never dreamed before that I had so 
many friends. A copy of these congratulations is 
given below. 

To 
Mr. James B. Corey 
on his 80th birthday, 
April 23, 1912. * 
While at sea on board White Star Steamship 
"Adriatic". 
12 o'clock noon. Latitude 41.06 North. Longi- 
tude 41.05 West. 



186 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

A BOQUET OF GOOD WISHES. 

From some of his fellow travelers returning 
from the cruise of the ' 'Arabic". 

"A safe return to your family, and many happy re- 
turns of the day are the wishes of your friend, 

M. J. Condit". 



"With best wishes for your continued good health 
and congratulations. 

Mr. & Mrs. John F. Mail, 

Denver, 001.' ' 



"My hearty congratulations. May you live long, be 
prosperous and happy. 

HattieMay Condit." 



"I congratulate you on this your 80th anniversary 
of your birth; and above all that you are still 
permitted to do service for Him whom you love 
— your Redeemer and King. 

Erwin Jennett". 



Each birthday seems an added jewel in your 
crown of noble manhood. 

William H. White, 

Fargo, N. D." 



"Each year of a hearty old age is often God's cer- 
tificate of approval that the life has been obe- 
dient to his laws. Many certificates are evi- 
dently yet coming to you. May you enjoy them 

all 

Henry E. Brundage, 

Pastor, Presbyterian Church. 

Washington, D. C." 



Memoir and Personal, Recollection. 187 

"Wishing you a birthday happy, calm and bright; 
Not a shadow near you, Joy from morn' till night. 

L. A. Washburn, 

Georgetown, O.' 1 



"If through unruffled seas 

Toward heaven, we calmly sail; 

With grateful hearts, Lord to thee, 
We'll own the favoring gale. 

Sincerely your friend, 

Nellie W. Williams." 



"May your days be still prolonged, and the latter 
days be the brightest and the best. 

Your friend, 

Leighton William ' \ 



1 i Thanks, thanks to , thee my worthy friend 

For the lesson thou has taught; 
Thus at the flaming forge of life 

Our fortunes must be wrought; 
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped 

Each burning deed and thought. 

Very sincerely yours, 
Julia Willits William.' ' 



"Now we see through a glass darkly, 
but then, face to face; 

Is the sentiment, with best wishes for a happy re- 
turn of the day, of 

Matthew Woods. ' ' 



188 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

' ' May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in 
1854, saved you through His precious Blood, be 
with you through all the days of your life ; and 
may each anniversary of your birth be brighter 
and more glorious even unto the end. 

Yours for the Master, 

Erwin Dennett". 



' ' Congratulations and best wishes to my friend with 
silvery hair and the young heart. May God 
give you many years to add to your beautiful 
life. " 

Sincerely yours, 

Jessie Conaut, 
Oak Park, 111." 



" There remaineth, therefore, a rest for the people 
of God". I know that when your work is done 
you will enter that * ' rest". Until then, may you 
rest in Him. 

Sincerely, 

M. H. Stine." 



"With best wishes for many happy returns of the 
day. 

Sincerely, 

Mrs. M. H. Stine." 



' i Happy is he who can look back over the achieve- 
ments of a lifetime and know that he has not 
lived in vain — that he has made the world some- 
what better by his presence. Happy is he who 
can remember the beauty of the sunrise of life 
with all its promise, and yet look upon the 



Memoib and Peksonal Recollection. 189 

glories of the evening with the like feeling of 
admiration which was his in the morning of 
life, and with a deeper reverance for God and a 
larger love for his fellow. I account you such 
a one. A man of four score years who remains 
young at heart, inspires us all with new energy 
a larger hope and a stronger faith. May the 
Father bless and keep you. 

Fred W. Hendrichs, 
Lazelle P. Hendrichs, 
Susa Louise Hendrichs, 

Brooklyn, N. Y." 



"We never know too much of pleasure, 
Though many a happy day has life. 

May fate, then, give you fullest measure, 
Of every joy and naught of strife. 

Wishing you many happy. birthdays. 

Mildred E. Bowman, 
Troy, N. Y. 



? ? 



' ' May your life be full of sunshine and happiness to 
the very end. The wish of .your friend on the 
* Arabic'. 

Harriet J. Condit, 
Roseland, N. J." 



i l As the days go on and the years draw nigh 
May your life be happy, without tear or sigh. 

Hattie May Condit. 



"For you, may each succeeding year bring mem- 
ories of this life, so dear. 

Mrs. C. M. Bowman, 
Troy, N. Y." 



190 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

" Those that be planted in the house of the Lord 
shall flourish in the courts of our God. They 
shall bring forth fruit in old age. 

Mary J. Condit, 
Roseland, N. J." 



' ' Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore, 
will I deliver him : I will set him on high, be- 
cause he hath known my name. 

He shall call upon me, and I will answer him : I will 
be with him in trouble ; I will deliver him, and 
honor him. 

With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my 
salvation. 

Charles Beach Condit. ' ' 



1 ' I hope the rest of your life may be as bright as 
your birthday. 

Sincerely, 
Katharine School, 
Lebanon, Pa." 



"Glad to know that, our friend of eighty years 
(young) on this Arabic Oriental Cruise can 
realize the promise true. 

To him who has kept in remembrance his Creator 
the evil days come not, and the years draw nigh 
in which he says he has no pleasure. 

When to him time ceases an eternity of immortality 
throughout the ages of ages unfolds in all its 
glory through Jesus Christ, the Redeemer. 

Henry M. Winslow, 
Jenn W. Winslow, 

Brooklyn, N. Y." 



Memoir and Personal. Recollection. 191 

May our friend to whom the shadow of long years 
extend, have many happy returns of this day, 
and may the remainder of his life be as cloud- 
less and full of sunshine as our tour taken to- 
gether with Mr. Clark to the Orient in 1912. 

Fanny J. Eidley, 
Atlanta, Ga." 



Permit me to tender congratulations on this your 
natal day. May you have many returns. 

J. B. Coakley, 
Buffalo, N. Y." 



"So many Gods, so many creeds, 
So many paths that wind and wind, 
And just the art of being kind 
Is all this old world needs. 

Grace Miller, 
Akron, 0." 



* ' They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their 
strength. They shall mount up with wings as 
eagles ; they shall run and not be weary ; they 
shall walk and not be faint. May health, 
strength, peace, and happiness attend you until 
the evening shadows gather and then may it be 
light with never a night. 

Rev. J. H. Hackenberg, 

Reading, Pa." 



"Love worketh no ill to his neighbor. Therefore 
love is the fulfilling of the law. 

Walter J. Baird, 
Lebanon, Tenn. ' ' 



192 Memoir and Personal Eecollection. 

1 i The love of God which passeth all understanding 
be with you always, is our mutual wish on this 
your natal day. 

Chas. Francis, 
Lillian M. Fitch.' ' 



"And there shall be no night there; and they need 
no candle, neither light of the sun, for the Lord 
God giveth them light, and they shall reign for- 
ever and ever. 

Geo. K. Allen." 



"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His 
righteousness, and all these things shall be 
added unto you. Matt. 6-33. 

Henry Harris." 



' ' Your life has been an inspiration to me on the 1912 
Arabic Cruise. 'Mark the perfect man, and be- 
hold the upright, for the end of that man is 
peace'. Psalms 37-37. 

W. D. Gordon, 
Minneapolis, Minn., U. S. A." 



May fate give you her fullest joy this day, is my 
birthday wish. 

Mrs. K. C. Burr, 

Amsterdam, N. Y. " 



"For other foundations can no man lay, than that it 
laid which is Jesus Christ. 

O. K. Speer, M. D., 
Tamaqua, Pa." 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 193 

' ' I have been young and now am old, but I have not 
seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging 
bread. Psalm 37-25. 

Mrs. J. K. Webster, 
The St. Eegis, 
Cleveland, 0." 



"Here's to twenty years more of good health and 
happiness. N.L.Bailey." 



That you may have many more prosperous and 
healthful. birthdays is the wish of 

Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Reed, 

Hastings, Minn. ' ' 



"How"— 

Mr. and Mrs. Jno. F. Mail, 

Denver, Col. ' ' 



1 ( Wishing you many happy returns of the day, we 

Yours sincerely, 
Mr. and Mrs. A. Gr. Smith/ * 



" 'The God > will judge the right', Rameses II. 

Charles Wright, 
Detroit, Mich." 



"A good thought often elevates the mind, and. may 
lead to a good action, or a generous resolution. 

E. F. Clarke, 

Springfield, Mass. ' ' 



"Best wishes and happiness. 

B. C. Maud Speer, M. D., 

Tamaqua, Pa. ' ' 



194 Memoie and Personal Recollection. 

"May you live many years to* enjoy the remem- 
brance of Cruise 1912. 

0. M. Bowman, Troy, N. Y." 



Wishing you many happy returns of the day. 

Helen Peters. ' ' 



"Only a ship's passing acquaintance, but a friend's 
a friend for a' that. In the eventide there shall 

be ^ ht Ida M. Clarke, 

Edmonton, Canada.' ' 



"Kind wishes and congratulations from 

Mrs. J. Clifford Nickels." 



1 Congratulations , on your birthday and the posses- 
sion of a devoted daughter. 

Ella Sprague Bill, 
Springfield, Mass." 



"Heartiest congratulations from i 

Mona Windish Sullivan, 

Cincinnati, 0. 
Adele Schwartz, 

Hamilton, 0." 



"Best wishes and congratulations. 

Carolyne ,Lee, Kansas City, Mo. ' ' 



May the remainder of your days be filled with sun- 
shine • and contentment is the wish of your 
Arabic friends, cruise of 1912. 

W. E. Daniels, M. D., 
Mabel A. Daniels, 

Madison, S.,D." 



Memoir and Personal Becollection. 195 

"Best wishes for many more happy birthdays. 

Hora A. Lee, 
, Kansas City, Mo." 



"May many, many happy years be added to your 
sum, and late at last — in tenderest love — the 
beckoning angel come. , 

Mr. and Mrs. Heber C. Peters." 



' With all good wishes for many happy birthdays. 
, Friedericka C. Rymarzick." 



"Wishing yon many returns of the day. With very 
kindest regards and best wishes. 

Gilbert T. t Bafferty." 



' ' Hoping that you will have many more happy birth- 
days. 

, William J. Smith, 

34 Grammercy Park, 
New York City." 



"Lord, keep my memory green — Dickens. 

S. H. Ehodes." 
"Best wishes to one of the best travelers on the 
1912 cruise. 

JT. F. O'Kourke, 
Derby Line, Vermont. ' ' 



"Hearty congratulations from a fellow traveler on 
the ' Adriatic \ < 

D. Dillis." 



196 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 



Chapter 7 

Experiences with Oath-Bound Secret Societies 
And Correspondence Regarding Them. 

I never belonged but to one oath-bound secret 
society, and was the cause of its disruption, after 
eighteen months ' experience as the Secretary of the 
order. It was called "The Temple of Honor", (a 
more appropriate title would have been "The Tem- 
ple of Dishonor' '). Like all secret orders, it sailed 
under false colors in appealing to the public for 
patronage and support, and like Free Masonry, they 
adopted high sounding titles and phrases to cover 
up the real deception and fraud underneath them. 
The Temple of Honor publicly proclaimed that the 
chief object in the organization of the order was to 
prohibit the manufacture and sale of intoxicating 
liquors. 

In the Fall of 1852, the only storekeeper in the 
town of Port Perry, from whom the lodge had 
rented two rooms in the second story of his store, 
knowing my temperance sentiments prevailed upon 
me to apply for membership, which I did ; and on 
the night appointed, I was initiated by what, to me 
although little past 21 years old, was the most dis- 
gusting experience of my life. Had I known what a 
travesty upon common sense and decency awaited 
me, no incentive within the power of the little town 
would have induced me to have consented to the in- 
ri^Tiity upon my manhood. 

I was a young coal boat Pilot, having piloted a 
pair of boats before I was 18 years old, and pub- 
lished from Pittsburgh to New Orleans as "The Boy 
Pilot' ' which brought me to the head of the profes- 
sion and insured me a trip when there was a rise in 



Memoik and Personal Eecollection. 197 

the river. It gave me a standing in the community 
and naturally made me feel proud, and if I made no 
mistake my success in life was assured; but when 
the bandage was removed from my eyes and I saw 
the class of men I was to associate with, great as 
was the feeling of indignation at the initiation 
through which I had passed, my surprise and con- 
tempt for the sham which had been perpetrated on 
me was, if possible, increased, and had I had the 
courage, I would have then withdrew. The Chief 
Templar was a renegade Catholic, who as a pilot had 
been very successful, and yet rarely made a trip that 
he did not get into trouble from imbibing too much 
liquor or some other dissolute act. Then there were 
Coal Operators, along with a number of other Pilots 
and hands whom I knew had no affinity for me and I 
had none for them, but they pretended to be de- 
lighted that I had joined the lodge. 

This one instance of the lack of manly courage, 
and to stand by the principles that my mother had 
instilled into my youthful mind, has all my life been 
a cause of regret. Had I given heed to the prayer 
of Job 32, 21-22, "Let me not, I pray you, accept any 
man's person; neither let me give flattering titles 
unto man. For I know not to give flattering titles, 
in so doing, my Maker would soon take me away". 
It would have saved me from unpleasant recollec- 
tions. But while I was trying to formulate a reply 
to their congratulations, one of the Pilots nomi- 
nated me for Secretary of the lodge, seconded by one 
of the Operators. I was fairly carried to the desk 
and the record book placed in my hands. There 
were few, if any, of the members capable of acting 
as their secretary, and I think this perhaps was the 
cause of their rejoicing over the new addition to 
their membership. 

Neglect of giving heed to another admonition of 
the Good Book, Romans, 3-8, where Paul resented 



198 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

the slander of doing evil that good may come whose 
damnation is just, and the hope of reforming the 
lodge and have it abolish its silly initiary manner of 
receiving its members, for the moment caused me to 
forget taking the obligation, (If such a promise taken 
in that way, is an obligation) to answer the sign of 
distress of a brother Templar and prefer him in 
business to another. I accepted the office of secre- 
tary and for eighteen months, once a month, when at 
home, I performed the duties of the office to the 
satisfaction of the members. 

My disgust with the conduct of the lodge as a 
reformatory organization increased the more famil- 
iar I became with it, especially as I saw that moral 
principles and integrity of character seemed to be 
secondary considerations in their associations with 
each other. Their chief motive was to aid each 
other in taking advantage of an outsider, regardless 
of common honesty, and I saw that the principles in- 
stalled into my mind, that a good name was rather to 
be chosen than great riches, was looked upon by the 
majority as not in harmony with the object in or- 
ganizing the lodge. Another fact which, as the 
Secretary, I soon learned, increased my disgust with 
the whole affair. It was that the grand lodge 
claimed a percentage of all the money received in 
initiating new members, and they were insisting up- 
on the amount due them, $375.00. I was impatiently 
waiting for an excuse to resign and withdraw from 
the lodge, and I did not have to wait long until the 
golden opportunity arrived. 

One of the duties of the coal boat Pilot was the 
hiring of his own crew of hands. This gave him an 
influence with the hands on the boats not unlike that 
of a Captain on a steamboat or ship, which insured 
obedience to his orders. The wages of the Pilots 
and hands were so much per trip. Hands received 
from $18 to $20 to Louisville and $40 to $60 to New 



Memoik and Personal Recollection. 199 

Orleans, while Pilots received $100 to Louisville and 
$400 to New Orleans. This also gave the pilots an 
influence with the common laboring men in the town. 
It was a duty the pilot owed the owner of the boats, 
as well as his own interests, to hire the best and 
most capable hands he could get, a good crew of 
hands being as essential as a good Pilot. I was 
hiring a crew right in front of the building where 
our lodge held its meetings, and needed one man to 
make out our full crew. I was in the act of hiring 
John M , whom I knew to be a reliable and ex- 
perienced boatman, when one of my brothers in the 

lodge, James Madison L threw me the lodge 

sign, knowing what it meant. I stepped up to him 
and said: "Mad, (his nickname) you need not throw 
that sign to me — I will not respect it". I hired John 

M and started out with the boats, making the 

trip safely. 

When I came home I was served with notice that 
"Mad" brought charges against me for violation of 
my obligation as a member of the lodge. Tuesday 
night was the regular meeting night of the lodge, 
and the rumor that J. B. Corey was to be tried for 
violating his oath in not respecting Mad L 's sign, 
thrown, when hiring his crew, insured a full attend- 
ance of everybody in the lodge, and twice as many 
others who waited outside the lodge room to hear the 
result. When the Chief Templar said, "Read the 
roll" I promptly called off the names to which thej 
word "present" resounded through the hall. When 
order was restored the Chief Templar then read the 
charges against me, and asked me if I had any reply 
to make as to why a Committee should not be ap- 
pointed to hear the charges. I said: "No, I am 
guilty of doing what he charges me with, and my 
only defense is that the obligation is one no honest 
man ought to take. George Ledlie hired me to pilot 
the boats and it was my duty, as an honest man, to 



200 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

employ the best and most experienced crew I could 
get ; besides it was to my own interests, as well, to 
have the best hands I could get. You, Mr. Chief 

Templar, know that between Mad L and John 

M there is no comparison, and you, yourself, 

would not hire Mad in preference to John, and no 
owner or pilot in this lodge would have done differ- 
ent from what I did. I was persuaded to join the 
lodge on pretense of Temperance, and prohibition of 
whiskey being manufactured and sold was its main 
object, but you know that it is neither the object or 
the desire of the majority of this lodge to prevent 
either its manufacture or sale, and as the Bible says 
two cannot walk together, I am here to pay my dues 
and withdraw". The Chief Templar replied to me : 
"You are under charges and you cannot withdraw 
without the consent of the majority of the members ; 
I will put it to a vote and if they consent, you can 
withdraw 9 \ A vote was taken, and the majority in- 
sisted that I could not withdraw without receiving 
the censure of the chair, as I plead "guilty". I did 
not object to this, went forward, and the Chief 
Templar pronounced his censure. I then paid bal- 
ance due and withdrew from the lodge. The others 
remained at the lodge to decide what they would do 
in regard to the money due the Grand Lodge. The 
owners and pilots saw that if the principles on which 
I was compelled to leave were to prevail, it was not 
a very desirable association and they persuaded the 
other members, many of whom, were behind in their 
dues, voted not to send the money to the Grand 
Lodge, but take it and go on a grand drunk. This 
was agreed to on a Tuesday and on Saturday they 
started in to have a good time. "Whiskey in, Wit is 
out". There was only one tavern in the town and 
they started in to clean it out, but the landlord was 
a Penna. Dutchman, and not being easy to clean out, 
took an iron poker and broke the Chief Templar 's 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 201 

arm, (the one who had sentenced me four nights be- 
fore) and the others were only too glad to escape 
without broken heads. This resulted in the disrup- 
tion of the Temple of Honor Lodge and the organi- 
zation of the Good Templars throughout the United 
States. 

The cream in the cocoanut in these secret so- 
cieties, is the receipts that the Grand Lodge re- 
ceives for issuing charters. The great hue and cry- 
over corrupt abuse of corporations should result in 
the exposure of one of, if not the most, corrupt com- 
binations in the U. S., that of the Grand Lodge which 
arbitrarily takes advantage of the ignorance and 
duplicity of the masses and enrich themselves by 
prostituting our civil government to avarice and 
greed. 

Burned my Hands a Second Time on Same 
Hot Iron. 

The reader would think that an experience such 
as above related should prevent a man of ordinary 
common sense from burning his hands a second time, 
but it was only a month or so until the same man 
who had persuaded me to become a member of the 
Temple of Honor said to me: "J. B., we are going 
to organize an Odd Fellows Lodge, and we want you 
to become one of the charter members ' \ I replied : 
' ' No, Mark, no more lodge in mine ; you got me to 
join the Temple of Honor, one of the biggest shams 
I ever had anything to do with". But after palaver- 
ing me with the great good they did in helping their 
members in distress, I consented to be one of the 
charter members and gave him the $5.00 fee asked. 
They have this fee yet, which at compound interest 
amounts to $ 

On going home and telling my wife and her 
father, and my mother, what I had done, they said: 



202 Memoir and Personal Becollection. 

"Is it possible that you would allow Mark B to 

pull the wool over your eyes a second time \ ' ' On 
thinking it over, I decided I would tell Mark that my 
wife and family were all opposed to my becoming an 
Odd Fellow. He told me to go up to the lodge at 
McKeesport, where he had sent my $5 and tell them 
I decided not to become a member and secure the $5. 
I decided I would not play the "baby act" but would 
let them keep my money. However, on talking it 
over with several others, we decided to go up and 
ask them to return our money, which we did. Beach- 
ing the hall about an hour before their meeting time, 
we were standing in front of the building. When 
the members came, the most of them were coal boat- 
men, they went on into the lodge, intending to send a 
committee down to invite us up, and did not even 
speak to us, evidently because most of them did not 
have any too much love for me. Therefore, I started 
up whining about their treating us so shabby, saying 
I was going to walk home and save my 25 cents on the 
boat and started for home, the rest following me. 
When the committee came down and found we had 
gone, they were indignant and surprised, and sent a 
committee on the packet boat next morning to learn 
the reason. We told them they had treated us shabby, 
as we pretended, and that we had decided we had no 
desire to unite with such an order. Most of them 
promised to return for initiation, but two or three 
besides myself refused and they promised to return 
our $5, but they still have it. I was only too glad to 
get out of the hole that a little soft sodder had put 
me in. Most of those men are dead, some of them 
more than half a centruy. In after years, frequently 
pilots and hands on the flat boats would say to me: 
"J. B., your head was level" or, "J. B., you showed 
your good sense in not joining the lodge". 

I do not recall a single instance of any one ever 
saying to me that I had made a mistake in not join- 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 203 

ing the lodge. I recall the miserable failure that the 
majority of the pilots and hands who became mem- 
bers of the lodge, made, both at Port Perry and Mc- 
Keesport; also the domestic troubles which befell 
them and their families, that were attributed to their 
lodge associations. For all these reasons, there- 
fore, when recalling my own experience I feel as 
though I had escaped by the skin of my teeth. 

My next experience with secret orders was after 
I was converted and appointed a class leader in the 
M. E. Church. I soon found out when trying to col- 
lect money for the support of the preacher that the 
majority who failed to pay their quarterage were 
lodge members who used their dues to lodge as an 
excuse for not saving money enough to pay the 
preachers and requested their names to be taken off 
the class book. I also later learned that a number 
of the preachers belonged to the lodge. 

Free Mason Methodist Preachers. 

I will digress here and relate two incidents in 
my early religious experiences. I had not heard of 
the murder of Wm. Morgan for revealing the secrets 
of Free Masonry in 1828, and was ignorant of the 
diabolical principles that predominate in oath-bound 
secretism. 

The Rev. David Hess, in charge of the Port 
Perry circuit with its three appointments, held at 
Port Perry in the winter of 1858, the biggest revival 
ever held in the little brick meeting house, adding 
over 100 members to the society. We received our 
mail once a week. On Saturday morning, I went to 
the post office for my letters. The first one I opened 
was from Rev. Dr. Cox, telling me that Rev. Bell of 
the Central M. E. Church had died, and that he had 
transferred Brother Hess to fill his appointment ; 
and appointed Rev. Page Blackburn (who had been 



204 Memoie and Personal Recollection. 

on the superanuated list) to preaoh for us until con- 
ference sent him to us. The Post Office being right 
at the Lock, and Captain B. I. Wood, being one of the 
stewards and a leading member in our society, I 
went across and showed him the letter. We both 
agreed we were being made a cats-paw to pull the 
rich city's chestnuts out of the fire, but as the time 
for preaching was 10 :30 Sabbath, we decided not to 
do anything in the matter until we heard Brother B. 

preach, but I did not have to wait that long, 

for when I reached our home at Saltsburg, I found 

Brother B at my house with a letter from Dr. 

C relating the above facts, and saying he 

wanted me to take good care of Brother B , as 

he knew we would all be pleased with his appoint- 
ment. My wife and I were very favorably im- 
pressed with him, at family worship morning and 
evening, I felt sure that Dr. Cox had not treated us 
as we suspected he had. The news of the change of 
preacher drew a large congregation who were de- 
lighted with the new preacher. He was our preacher 
for the next two years, in which he grew in favor 
and affection of the congregation. When Dr. Cox 
held our quarterly meeting I asked him why he had 

sent Brother B to us and Brother H to 

fill out Brother Hess's term. He replied that he 
saw the opportunity to do us a good thing and there 
was not an appointment in his district that interested 
him as much as the Port Perry circuit. This made 
the presiding Elder solid. In 1860, Brother W. H. 
Locke became our preacher and filled the pulpit over 
a year, when he resigned to accept an appointment as 
Chaplain in one of the regiments enlisted to defend 
the City of Washington. 

Locke was a bright young man, a good preacher, 
and being about my own age, we became fast friends. 
Being a member of the Masonic Order, he took it into 
his head that I would make a good Mason, and sug- 



Memoir and Personal Becollection. 205 

gested one day that I ought to make application to' 
join the order. I told him that my experience with 
the Temple of Honor and Odd Fellows had cured me 
of all desire to belong to a secret order. He replied : 
1 ' You are a pilot and you know you are caught in 
storms, and lose your boats and whole crews are 
drowned. If you were a Mason you could throw a 
sign to a Captain of a steamboat which would make 
him bound to come to your rescue". I said: 

"Brother L , if he had not humanity to come 

to the rescue of 20 men whose lives were in peril, he 
might shut his eyes to the Masonic sign of distress. 
He then replied: "You had Brother Hess as your 
pastor and was paying him $300 a year. Brother 
Bell, pastor of the Central M. E. Church, who re- 
ceived $800 per year died. Brother Blackburn, who 
had been on superanuated list from sickness was con- 
valescent and applied for an appointment at the ses- 
sion of conference and there being no vacancy, he 
was entitled to the first one occurring. However, 
Brother Hess was a Mason, so was Dr. CJox, the 
Presiding Elder, who makes the appointments dur- 
ing the interim between conferences, and he trans- 
ferred Brother Hess to the Central where for two 
years he was paid $8(30 a year and Brother Black- 
burn at Port Perry received $300". When Locke 
told me this, I sprang to my feet and excitedly said : 

"Brother L there is more honor among 

thieves. We coal boat pilots would not take a pair 
of boats to which another pilot was entitled, and you 
preachers pretending to be called to preach the Gos- 
pel and that the conference was a big wheel which 
dropped off the preacher at the point that God in- 
tended them to fill ; and you Masons manipulate the 
wheel so that your brother Masons drop off where 
the big salaries are paid. If those are. the facts, no 
Freemason will rake in any more of my money in 
the future ' \ By this time we were both as excited 



206 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

as our stock of grace warranted. My wife called 
down from the head of the stairs, saying : ' ' Did you 
know it was bed time 1 Mrs. Locke and I are not go- 
ing to sit up and listen to you wrangling about secret 
oraers ' \ We started up for our beds without stop- 
ping to say our prayers and slept too long for family 
worship the next morning. After breakfast Brother 

and Sister L started for home, it being the last 

meal they ever ate in our house. In a few months 
he received his appointment and I do not remember 
ever seeing him again, but I had learned the truth 
about Dr. Cox's appointing Brother Hess to fill 
Brother Bell's appointment, which ever after, shook 
my faith in the Divine call to preach, and the M. E. 
C. conference dropping off preachers at stations he 
designated them to fill. 

My next tilt with Masonic preachers was over 
the following article, published in the Pittsburgh 
Christian Advocate, July 25, 1864, protesting 
against laying corner stones of M. E. Churches with 
Masonic ceremonies. 

Laying Corner Stones op Churches With 
Masonic Ceremonies. 

Is it right to have Masons officiate at the laying 
of the corner-stones of our churches ? Is it best, is 
it fitting? It cannot be. I was reading not long 
since, Brick Pomeroy, in the LaCrosse Democrat, on 
the late general conference, a low, abusive, wretched 
article. Yet Brick Pomeroy is a good Master 
Mason, to whom the preacher must play the second 
fiddle in laying the corner-stones of new churches 
where the Masonic Order officiates. Now this is a 
specimen Brick for some of our progressive 
preachers, who may need some good Freemason to 
lay corner-stones of churches with the imposing 
ceremony of this knightly order. A good brother in 
the church told me the other day, if I wished to know 



Memoik and Personal Recollection. 207 

what Masonry is, to get the LaCrosse Democrat, and 
read it. I suppose, Brick, having established -his 
credit as an authority on Masonry, has concluded to 
try it on Methodism. I know there is no accounting 
of taste; but the fellow-shipping of Methodist 
preachers with such a specimen Brick, as Brick 
Pomeroy in an order combining so many excellencies 
as to take the precedence of the Church of Christ (as 
we have learned it) in laying the foundations of his 
temples, is so misty that nothing short of an article 
from the editor calling out some of these progressive- 
divines in its defense will ever clear up the mystery. 
I wish some good Freemason preacher would ex- 
plain this point. The seeming inconsistency to my 
mind is, if Masonry is better than Methodism, why 
not embrace it directly and preach it directly to the 
people ? If it is not as good, why substitute it for 
Methodism? If, as they profess, they were called of 
God to preach his Gospel to poor sinners, through 
which channel were they commissioned to convey the 
glad tidings? Is not the substituting of the cere- 
monies of the Freemasons, or those of any other 
midnight clan for the services of Methodism, as we 
have learned them, on the part of the persons pro- 
fessing to have received this divine call to preach, 
the most conclusive evidence that he was mistaken in 
his being called, yea, is it not more ; is it not an un- 
pardonable fraud on the church? 

Now a word or two upon this divine call. What 
is implied by it? If an individual has a claim on 
me, and he takes my note or promise to pay for his 
claim, I understand him to have confidence in my 
ability, as well as my honesty, to pay. If he re- 
quires an endorser, I understand at once that he has 
doubts either in my ability or integrity, one or both. 
Now in reference to the call — of which we hear so 
much — what is it? On the one part, God calls the 
man to go into all the world and preach the Gospel, 



208 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

with the promise : ' i Lo ! I am with you always, even 
unto the end of the world". On the other hand, the 
man accepts the call and begins to pleach the Gospel 
of Christ, proclaiming to all around that "Godliness" 
is profitable unto all things ; having the promise of 
the life that now is, and of that which is to come". 
"But", says the Mason preacher (for actions speak 
louder than words) "I must have an endorser. To 
make the first part of the promise good, I must have 
Freemason written upon the back of it' \ Is not this 
the measure of your faith, Mr. Mason preacher? If 
not, why not execute the divine call through one or 
the other of the channels ? On this point, I raise 
the question. I never gave a dollar to the support 
of the Church but what I intended to be applied to 
the discharging of the claim the claimant had upon 
God. In making good his promise as to ' ' the life 
that now is " ; or in other words, God, in the use of 
human instrumentalities, claims at our hands the 
support of his chosen servants ; and in contributing 
to the support of the ministry, I so understand it. 
And now, if, in honoring these drafts, I have paid 
any with the endorsements above, I have no hesi- 
tancy in pronouncing them a forgery, as I don 't be- 
lieve God would accept the service of so faithless 
and unbelieving a servant. And in the future, any 
money extracted from me under the pretense of ex- 
tending the Gospel, to be applied to the payment of 
any one having the endorsement aforesaid, will be a 
clear case of false pretense as I will never pay it, if 
I am aware of it. 

This being the measure of my faith in the divine 
call in these cases, I simply make this personal allu- 
sion in order to make plain the point, I wish to get 
out, viz. : That in contributing to the support of the 
ministry, it is done, with the understanding and 
under the impression that the man is called of God, 
and that he has taken God for his support ; and we 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 209 

but obey his requirements in yielding the support or 
claim of his servants which duty requires. But we 
should guard against imposters, or wolves in sheep's 
clothing; the best possible evidence of which is a 
claim with the above endorsement. Now, I wish to 
enter my protest against the high-handed outrage of 
involving a church or society, without their consent, 
to the support of principles and sentiments that are 
revolting to the sense and honor of every intelligent 
and honest person. And I call upon every lover of 
our church to resent every such innovation in our 
economy, and to discountenance this most doubtful 
practice, on the part of our ministers, and laity, of 
uniting with secret societies, where nothing more 
than some dark oath is required to hold them to- 
gether, and where they must necessarily recognize 
such a vile person as Brick Pomeroy, as hale fellow 
and good brother. No, Mr. Mason preacher, if 
Masonry has more claims and greater inducements 
than the church, then embrace it; but leave us, who 
prefer the church, to the peaceful, quiet, enjoyment 
of the old ship of Zion. We want no Mason planks, 
spars, or wheels ; no Mason captains, pilots, cham- 
bermaids or cooks ; no Mason life boats or life pre- 
servers. Having taken passage in the "Old Ship", 
with our noble captain, we expect to out-weather 
every storm, carry safely home all our passengers; 
when we get into port, we neither want to divide 
costs, profits, or praise. So, if you are willing, we 
will each paddle our own canoe. 

P. S. Being at that time a pilot on the Ohio 
River, will account for the boatman's phrases and 
figures of speech. 

This resulted in my withdrawing from the 
Methodist Episcopal Church in which, so to speak, I 
had been born and raised, and becoming a strong 
anti-Mason and now at 82 years of age, looking as it 



210 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

were into the grave, I do not regret the stand I took 
on this, to me the sum of all villiany. Having ear- 
nestly read the Bible through 21 times, one chapter 
each day (as follows: St. James Version 8 times, 
New Version, the same chapter 4 times, two other 
versions, same chapter same day, in all 21 times and 
one of my readings was with Dr. Adam Clark 's com- 
ments on each chapter), and with no unkind feeling 
towards any member of the Masonic Order, nor envy 
or jealousy of the members of any, I cannot possibly 
see how any man can possibly hope to escape the 
great day of His wrath except by Godly sorrows and 
heart-felt repentance and confession and repentance 
of the sin. 

And of all the "isms" by which the Devil al- 
lures men and women from the straight and narrow 
path leading to heaven, oath-bound secret "ism" is 
his most successful "ism". 

My article on laying " Corner-Stones of 
Churches with Masonic Ceremonies" was subse- 
quently re-published in "The Free Methodist" of 
March 19th, 1884, and in the March 26th, 1885, issue 
of the same paper I published the following article in 
explanation of having written the article : 

"I continue the subject of my after experience, 
and the workings of oath-bound secret orders, and 
their influence in the church. At the time I wrote 
this article, I have no recollection of ever seeing any- 
thing on the subject of secret societies. I had never 
heard of the Morgan affair and the anti-Masonic ex- 
citement of 1826-8, resulting therefrom, nor of 
President Finney's book. A United Presbyterian 
preacher on hearing of my article in the Advocate 
and the stir it made among some M. E. Preachers, 
asked me if I had read Morgan 's book on Masonry. 
I told him I had not. He referred me to U. P. book 
store and advised me to get it, which I did. I also 
bought a copy of all the different books they had on 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 211 

secret societies, and was surprised to see the excite- 
ment and interest that had been occasioned by- 
Masonry and Anti-Masonry, and no mention of it in 
many of the secular or religious papers. I had read of 
Knights of the Golden Circle, and kindred orders of 
a political nature, as being instrumental in bringing 
about the rebellion of the southern states, and the 
Ku Klux, Cross-bones, etc., of the slaveholders, but 
I had seen nothing in regard to Masonry and Odd 
Fellowship. 

I had not heard of the Free Methodist Church 
Organization. Occasionally some writer in the 
Pittsburgh Advocate would refer to the Nazarite 
movement in the Genesee Conf erenc, which led me to 
think there were some crazy fanatics in the State of 
New York that ought to be in a lunatic asylum. In 
fact, I knew nothing of the workings or horrible 
oaths and death penalties of Freemasonry, and cared 
less. 

The occasion of my writing the article was the 
indignation I felt on reading a vile, slanderous, abu- 
sive article published by Brick Pomeroy in the La- 
Crosse Democrat, and copied into the secular press,' 
in which Brick had described the General Conference 
of the M. E. Church in session at Chicago, as an as- 
sembly of adulterers and libertines, and warned the 
citizens of Chicago to guard their wives and daugh- 
ters from coming in contact with these clerical 
lecherous villians, and other such vile epithets. I 
was returning from General Conference (where I 
had gone as a visitor) to see old Peter Cartwright, 
and to hear Morley Punshon, fraternal delegate 
from England, preach. On my way home, a Pitts- 
burgh paper fell into my hands on the train, that had 
copied this vile article, and also had notice of Brick 
Pomeroy 's being presented by Master Masons at St. 
Louis with Past Master Mason jewels. This, and a 
Pittsburgh Conference preacher by name of J. J. 



212 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

Mclllyar, laying the corner-stone of one of our 
churches with Masonic ceremonies, was the imme- 
diate cause of this article. I handed it to Dr. S. H. 
Nesbit, Editor of the Advocate, who, in reading it, 
said if I had sent it to him to General Conference he 
would have had them pass resolutions condemning 
the innovation of Masonry into our church services. 
But when this article stirred the fraternity and they 
poured in on him their replies, and I wanted to reply 
again, he came to me saying : "I know you are right, 
but if we allow the controversy to go on, it will stir 
up strife and possibly cause a movement similar to 
the Nazarite movement in the Genessee Confer- 
ence". He then told me Masonry was the starting 
cause of that trouble, etc. 

Not having had very strong convictions on the 
subject, and those which I had formed were more 
from my observation of the influence of Odd Fellows 
and secret temperance societies on our members and 
young converts who were allured into this order, 1 
took his advice and dropped the matter, as I sup- 
posed. But this was not to be. I had incurred dis- 
pleasure of the mystic order, and good brethren in 
the church and ministers who heretofore manifested 
so much love for me, and who I never dreamed of 
being Masons, much less had intended to offend, be- 
came estranged and cool towards me. Three years 
after the writing of the article a preacher whom I did 
not know, except by the Conference reports, came on 
to the circuit to take (as a friend afterwards told 
me another Mason preacher told him) "the kinks out 
of me". On learning this, I asked the same 
preacher if he had so told this man, and he admitted 
that he did, and when cornered up, gave as a reason 
the writing of this same article. This may seem in- 
credible and childish, but yet it is true. 

Let this suffice for an excuse for the republish- 
ing of the article. And if you will allow the space, 



Memoir and Personal. Recollection. 213 

I will try and show wherein God caused the wrath of 
men to praise Him, etc. and how, what at the time 
seemed to me to be the greatest trial and calamity of 
my life, turned out to be the greatest blessing". 

As of probable interest, I will now quote my va- 
rious correspondence upon the subject of secret 
societies. 

Pittsburgh, Pa., July 29th, 1905. 

Hon. John Weaver, 

Mayor, Philadelphia, Pa. , 

My Dear Sir : — 

You will please find a copy of letter and extracts 
from letters of one of the ablest Presidents, and 
wisest political economists this country has ever 
produced. I mailed a copy to Mrs. Eoosevelt, Hon. 
Elihu Root, Charles J. Bonaparte, Secretary Wilson 
and Postmaster General Cortelyou. My object in 
sending these copies to Mrs. Roosevelt and the mem- 
bers of the Cabinet was : First, to call the Presi- 
dent 's attention to the most prominent source and 
cause of all these corrupt grafts and scandals which 
are disgracing the American people in the eyes of 
the civilized world. Second, to even up with 
" Teddy", for the great outrage he perpetrated on 
the American people in publicly advising young men 
to become members of the Masonic Order. Third, 
I am in hopes of awakening the American people to 
the most prominent cause and means of all these 
public scandals that are disgracing our nation and 
people in the eyes of the whole world. Now, dear 
Mayor Weaver, it would take up too much of your 
own time for you to attempt to read these letters 
and extracts ; but if you will have the North Ameri- 
can publish them, I think you will strike the thieves 
plundering our municipal, State and National Gov- 
ernments right between the eyes. As I call to mind 



214 Memoik and Personal Recollection. 

the names of the men in the past who have robbed 
our public treasuries, in every instance they were 
members of the Masonic order, and I venture the as- 
sertion that you will find that the grafters you are 
contending with are members of this order. You 
need not hope ' ' to bring a clean thing out of an un- 
clean", nor "do anything against truth". All 
human experiences demonstrate that "What we sow 
we shall reap". I am, dear sir, 

Yours respectfully, 

J. B. Corey. 

Pittsburgh, Pa., July 27th, 1905. 

Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt, 
Oyster Bay, N. Y. 

My dear Mrs. Roosevelt : — 

You will pardon this trespass on your time and 
patience. I recently read in your city newspapers 
an account of your being elected to the Vice Presi- 
dency of the Mothers' National Association, and 
that the object of the association is to elevate our 
American mothers ' influence upon the manhood and 
womanhood of our nation. It occurred to me that in 
view of the manifest need of a higher standard both 
of the manhood and womanhood of our nation, as is 
evidenced in the great increase of crime and di- 
vorces, no more worthy objects or associations could 
appeal to the first lady of the land for encourage- 
ment and assistance. The increase of divorces 
alone, that of 780 per cent, to 170 per cent of in- 
crease of population, or 800,000, to 69 on Canada in 
32 years, would seem to call upon the mothers of our 
nations to arise and ask why this degenerate state 
and condition of American man and womanhood. 
Why, dear Mrs. Roosevelt, in one day last week 
there was presented in our Allegheny County courts 
petitions for 14 divorces or one-fifth as many as 



Memoik and Peesonal Recollection. 215 

were divorced in Canada in 32 years. I see it stated 
that in New York there is one divorce in every 32 
marriages ; in Pennsylvania, one in every 22 mar- 
riages ; in some of the Western States, one in every 
six marriages. That a higher state of manhood and 
womanhood is needed requires no argument to 
prove, and that no other influence offers stronger 
hopes than that of good mothers, I think is equally 
true. But from an experience of over 52 years as a 
husband and that also of father and grandfather, I 
am fully persuaded that a mother's influence begins, 
and continues, as a wife upon her husband and the 
father of her children. I assure you that my own 
experience and observation convince me that many a 
good mother's efforts and influence have been ren- 
dered nugatory through the bad precept and ex- 
ample of the husband and father. 

As I read of the organization of the Mothers' 
National Association, I felt an inward desire to aid 
so worthy an association. In reflecting upon the 
subject, the various hindrances and difficulties your 
association would encounter presented themselves to 
my mind; none seem to be greater than those of de- 
generate husbands and fathers. In dwelling upon 
the numerous evil tendencies of bad husbands and 
fathers, aside from the unregenerate human nature, 
there are some prominent and leading evils in our 
social and political system that greatly increase the 
degenerate habits of husbands and fathers in our 
land. The most prominent and popular evil habit of 
men, and which I think will greatly add to the diffi- 
culties of the Mothers' National Association is that 
of oath-bound secret societies. That you may be 
able to fully realize the magnitude of this great evil 
and may not attribute the statement to an old man 
in his dotage, I mail you a book published by one of 
your husband's most illustrious predecessors, His 
Excellency, John Quincy Adams, whom I do not 



216 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

think had a superior, if an equal, in the White House. 
I hope you will find time to read what President 
Adams says about the evil and degenerate influence 
of Freemasonry upon the manhood of our people. 
I also send you a book entitled "Freemasonry", 
illustrated by Rev. Charles Blanchard, one of the 
noblest, purest of Christian ministers this nation 
ever had. But you, yourself, if you stop to consider, 
cannot fail to see the degrading effects such blood- 
curdling, barbarous oaths must have upon young 
men. Take that of a man swearing under no less 
penalty than that of having his throat cut from ear 
to ear, etc., that he will not take part in initiating a 
madman, hermaphrodite, or woman, placing his 
mother, sister, wife, or daughter upon the same 
level as that of an idiot, or hermaphrodite, or that of 
a Master Mason swearing that he will not commit 
adultery or prostitute Master Mason's mother, sis- 
ter, wife, or daughter, he knowing them to be such, 
etc. Well, I send you a copy of a reply to a Masonic 
friend who attacked me, in which you will see how 
far that oath restrains their evil passions. I feel 
sure that any intelligent mother would not like to see 
her own son or daughter become subject to such de- 
grading influences, and I call your National Mothers' 
Association to this one man-degrading influence as 
one of the greatest evils crying for reform in our na- 
tion today. I am, dear Mrs. Roosevelt, 

With sincere respect, 

J. B. Corey. 

Pittsburgh, Pa., July 26th, 1905. 

Hon. Elihu Root, Secretary of State, 
Washington, D. C. 

My dear Sir: — 

Will you permit a citizen of Pennsylvania to 
thank you for the great service you rendered the 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 217 

citizens of the Keystone State by the aid given His 
Honor, Mayor Weaver. It would be impossible, 
dear Mr. Root, to exaggerate the importance of your 
most timely service and advice to the people of 
Pennsylvania, in particular, and to the American 
people in general. I enclose you a copy of a letter to 
Mrs. Theodore W. Birney and Mrs. Theodore Roose- 
velt, President and Vice-President respectively, of 
the American Mothers ' National Association, with 
extracts of letters from one of President Roosevelt's 
most illustrious predecessors, His Excellency, John 
Quincy Adams. You will notice, Mr. Root, that 
President Adams in his controversy with Colonel 
Stone, very clearly predicted the corrupt state and 
condition of things which are disgracing the Ameri- 
can people in the eyes of the civilized world today. 
I most earnestly hope you will be able to call Presi- 
dent Roosevelt's attentoin to the necessity of going 
down to the very root of all these public scandals, 
and how hopeless will be the effort to secure any real 
reform while the public offices are filled with men 
who are bound under penalties of having their 
throats cut from ear to ear, to answer a brother's 
cry of distress. I am, dear sir, 

Very respectfully, 

J. B. Corey. 

J. B. Corey to Private Dalzell. 
Open Letter. 
Private Dalzell, 

Washington, D. C. 

My dear Sir : — 

I read with interest your letter in today's Dis- 
patch, taking issue with His Honor, Judge Taft, Sec- 
retary of War, on the degeneracy of our American 
jury system. If you will permit a layman to sug- 
gest, I will venture to say that both you and Judge 
Taft are right as to the condition of our legal af- 



218 Memoir and Personal Recollection, 

fairs in our courts of justice, but I am also of the 
opinion that you are both off as to the best remedy 
for the evils complained of. This, I think, arises 
from a wrong diagnosis of the case. 

I unhesitatingly affirm it is a case of degeneracy 
of the whole people — or, in the language of " Holy 
Writ", it is a case of "Like people, like Priest". 
This being true, the only possible hope of reforming 
the evil lies in the regeneration of the people. This 
with the experience of the past ages, leaves us a for- 
lorn hope ; but, as I take it, the most that you and 
Judge Taft expect or hope to accomplish is to 
limit the effect of the evil conditions by which our 
social, political and moral relations are surrounded. 
That is, put off the evil day as long as possible. 

If I were to make a suggestion as to the best 
way of reforming the abuses of which you and Judge 
Taft complain in our legal proceedings or law courts, 
I would call your attention to the prophecy of one of 
President Roosevelt's predecessors, President John 
Quincy Adams, who predicted this very state of 
things of which you and Judge Taft complain. Presi- 
dent John Adams asks this question, "What must be 
the effect upon our courts and juries when the oath- 
bound Masonic criminal in the box throws the grand 
hailing sign of distress, or gives the wink to the 
Freemason Judge on the bench, who has sworn to 
have his throat cut from ear to ear if he does not go 
the length of his cable tow to answer his criminal 
brother's cry of distress?" And yet President 
Eoosevelt recommends all our young men to become 
Freemasons. 

Now, dear Private Dalzell, what we sow, we 
shall also reap. We can do nothing against the 
truth; but for truth, I am, dear sir, 

Respectfully yours, 

J. B. Corey. 
Pittsburgh, Pa., July 3. 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 219 

McKeesport, Pa., July 15, 1905. 
Hon. J. B. Corey, 
Braddock, Pa. 

Dear sir : — 

I notice in the press an article over your signa- 
ture wherein you quote President Polk, deceased 
President of our beloved country, in trying to estab- 
lish the fact that jury corruption was due in a great 
measure to the Masonic fraternity. I feel it my 
duty as a member of Accacia No. 444, to tell you that 
you do not know what you are talking about and that 
no sensible man would fix his signature to such rot. 

Yours respectfully, 

John G. Wilson. 

Pittsburgh, Pa., July 18th, 1905. 

Mr. John G. Wilson, 
McKeesport, Pa. 

My dear sir : — 

I have received your letter of the 15th. You 
address me as Hon. J. B. Corey. I am not aware of 
having done anything to entitle me to that title un- 
less it is what little I have tried to do in way of pre- 
venting the evils to our beloved country from oath- 
bound secretism. I suppose you refer to a recent 
article of mine published in the Pittsburgh Dispatch, 
commenting on articles of the Hon. Judge Taft, 
Secretary of War, and Private Dalzell of Washing- 
ton City, opposing Judge Taft's proposal to abolish 
the jury system, the Hon. Secretary of War insisting 
that the frequent and almost universal miscarriage 
of Justice of the jury system, has proved it is a 
miserable failure, and should be abolished. (This, 
you see, Mr. Wilson, is very high authority, and it is 
not very complimentary to our modern American 
citizens, is it?) Private Dalzell, in combating Judge 



220 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

Taft's ideas of doing away with our jury system, 
says it would destroy the very foundation upon 
which Abraham Lincoln's Government of, by and for 
the people rests, and would restore the divine rights 
of kings or autocracy and imperialism, etc. Private 
Dalzell says that the miscarriage of justice is as 
often attributable to the Judge on the bench as it is 
to the Jury in the box. 

In my article in the Dispatch, I call Judge Taft's 
and Private Dalzell 's attention to what I consider 
the real cause of the prevalent and universal miscar- 
riage of justice, and I quoted from a letter from one 
of President Roosevelt's most illustrious predeces- 
sors. His Excellency, John Quincy Adams, whose 
eight years in the Presidential chair was distin- 
guished by as high order of brilliant statesmanship 
and patriotism as any of his predecessors or suc- 
cessors that have sat in the Presidential chair. 

President Adams predicted that very state of 
things which Judge Taft complains of and Private 
Dalzell admits, and gave the American people the 
most natural reasons, and only logical conclusions, 
upon which he bases his prediction, when he asked 
Colonel Stone (to whom he was writing) "What 
must be the effect of the wink of the Freemason 
prisoner in the box to the oath-bound Judge upon 
the bench?" 

I suppose, Mr. Wilson, this is what you refer to, 
as I never used President Polk's name in writing 
upon the subject of Freemasonry. I do not think 
from reading, and knowledge of our Nation's his- 
tory, we ever had an abler President, if his equal, as 
a statesman and jurist than President John Quincy 
Adams. In this controversy with Colonel William 
Stone he convicts Freemasonry with nine of the 
highest crimes known to our civil laws, beginning 
with conspiracy and ending with the abduction and 
murder of William Morgan of Batavia, N. Y. His 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 221 

Excellency, John Quincy Adams, gives in his letters 
to William Stone, the only natural and logical re- 
sults of secret, oath-bound fraternities, who have 
bonded together to secure rights and privileges to 
which they are not entitled, and it 's no use for Judge 
Taft or President Roosevelt to complain of miscar- 
riage of justice and grafts while we have men bound 
together by such inhuman, barbarous oaths as that 
which Freemasonry imposes upon its members, to 
have their throats cut from ear to ear, their tongues 
pulled out by the roots, etc., if they do not go to the 
length of their cable tows to answer a brother 
Mason's cry of distress. I send you a few quota- 
tions from some other letters of President Adams. 
I think you will see it is not such rot as you would 
have us believe. What do they take such barbarous 
oaths for, anyway? 

Quotations from letters from John Quincy 
Adams on Freemasonry: 

Letters to Hon. Levi Lincoln, Governor of 
Massachusetts. 

Washington City, Feb. 1, 1832. 
Dear sir : — 

My anti-Masonry has cooled down a little, while 
objects less important but more urgent absorb my 
time and attention, etc. But if I had right of person 
or property pending in court of justice with an En- 
tered Apprentice or a Knight Templar for my Ad- 
versary, I should much disincline to see any man 
sworn upon my jury who had been present at the 
murder and resurrection of " Hiram AbifT", and 
still more to any one who should have crawled upon 
all fours from under the living arch. In other 
words, I do hold as disqualified for an impartial 
juror, at least between a Mason and anti-Mason any- 
one who has taken the Masonic oaths and adheres to 
them; not excepting the 1,200 Certifiers themselves, 



222 Memoik and Personal Recollection. 

and I have perfect confidence in their integrity ; but 
I would challenge them as jurors between me and 
the Master Mason; who made oath that he had been 
present with me at a lodge in Pittsfield, or between 
me and the Master Mason, who had the impudence 
to vouch for my Father as being a patron of 
Masonry. I have said that I share in no anti- 
Masonic prescription, if such there be, and repeat 
the assurance, nor will I press the name of him who 
attempted to induce in your mind a different belief. 
I have no doubt he was acting under Masonic law 
faithfully as the brethren of the Royal Arch; who 
Morganized the bottom of the Niagra River. 

"Aguosco fratem", 
John Quincy Adams. 

Extract of letter written Colonel William L. 
Stone. 

Quincy, August 29th, 1832. 

Long, and I fear tedious, as you found my last 
letter, I was compelled by a reluctance at making it 
longer to compress the observations in it upon the in- 
trinsic nature of the Masonic oaths, .obligations, and 
penalties, etc. I had said Freemasonry was vicious 
in its first step ; the initiation oath, obligation and 
penalty of the entered apprentice. To sutain this, I 
assigned five reasons. Because they were : first, con- 
trary to the law of the land ; second, in violation of 
the positive precepts of Jesus Christ; third, a pledge 
to keep undefined secrets, the swearer being ignorant 
of ; fourth, a pledge to th,e death penalty for viola- 
tion of the oath ; fifth, a pledge to a mode of death, 
cruel and unusual, unfit for utterance from human 
lips ; to go to the length of his cable tow to answer 
the grand hailing sign of distress of a brother 
Mason. 

Yours truly, 

John Quincy Adams. 



Memoir and Personal Eecollection. 223 

Extract of letter to William L. Stone. 

Quincy, Sept. 10th, 1832. 
Dear sir: — 

The second objection to the promise of the En- 
tered Apprentice is its universality. The candidate 
swears that he will never reveal, always conceal, any 
of the arts, parts or points of the mysteries of Free- 
masonry, to any person under the canopy of Heaven. 
This promise like the administration of the oath is in 
its term contrary to the laws of the land. The laws 
of this and every civilized country make it the duty 
of every citizen to testify to the whole truth of facts. 
No witness called before a court of justice can re- 
fuse to answer any question put to him by the court. 
This principle becomes more glaringly obvious when 
applied to the Masonic brother's oath never to re- 
veal, and always to conceal, the secrets of a brother 
Mason, under no less penalty than to have his throat 
cut from ear to ear. 

Yours truly, 

John Quincy Adams. 

Now, Mr. Wilson, does that read like rot, that a 
sensible man should be ashamed of? I certainly 
would be ashamed to have it said that I belonged to 
a cut-throat institution, that a man of President 
Adams' wisdom and patriotism had written up so 
clearly as he has done, this cut-throat institution. 
Masons boast that masonry control all our municipal 
State and National Governments; and yet, there 
never was such a disgraceful and corrupt condition 
of public affairs in the civilized world as is in the 
United States today. President Adams and others 
opposing it caused over 2,000 lodges to disband, 
throw up their organizations ; and for 25 years or 
more they did not dare to have their meeting places 
known. Now, Mr. Wilson, are you not ashamed? 



224 Memoik and Personal Recollection. 

Another extract from letter to Colonel William 
L. Stone, Sept. 10th, 1832: "The simple question— 
I take it to be this : I suppose a Freemason to be 
summoned before a judicial tribunal. Is or is he not 
bound to answer any question put to him by their 
authority? If he is, can he keep his Masonic oath 
of secrecy? And of what avail are the Masonic ob- 
ligations ? If his Masonic oath of secrecy is para- 
mount and supersedes the laws of the land with re- 
gard to the mysteries of the craft, where is the prin- 
ciple that restores the supremacy of the law of the 
land? By that oath the Master Mason promises to 
keep the secrets of a brother Mason as securely and 
inviolably as if they were locked up in his own 
breast, murder and treason not excepted. That is 
excepting two specific enumerated crimes. Why 
these exceptions?" asked Mr. Adams. Had I been 
told Mr. Stone, Mr. Wilson, I would have answered 
thus : President Adams, these are the same as those ; 
when the Master Mason swears he will not know- 
ingly violate the chastity or prostitute a Master 
Mason's mother, sister, wife, or daughter, knowing 
them to be such. Would not that have answered his 
question, don't you think? And yet, Mr. Wilson, a 
gentleman whose word will be taken anywhere or 
place where he is acquainted, told me the other day 
that there are two women, well known prostitutes, 
one the proprietress of a house of ill fame, that were 
schoolmates of his, children of a father and mother 
who stood high in the wealthier classes, the father 
himself being a Freemason, and belonged to the 
same lodge in this city in which the two lecherous 
libertines who prostituted both his daughters at the 
age of 15 and 18 years, on the same night, at a noted 
pleasure resort to which they had induced the young 
girls to go. The father, who himself had not been 
free from such acts, condoned these brutal acts of a 
brother Master Mason in consideration of some 



Memoik and Personal Recollection. 225 

financial assistance in time of a business trouble. 
This, I suppose might be called respecting the 
Masonic brother's cry of distress. Again President 
Adams asked : i i Have I proved that the Entered Ap- 
prentice 's oath is a breach of law, human and 
divine? That is, its promise is defined, unlawful 
and nugatory? That its penalties are barbarous, in- 
human, murderous, in its terms and in its least ob- 
noxious sense null and void. If so, my task is done. 
The first step in Masonry is a false step. The En- 
tered Apprentice 's obligation is a crime, and, like 
all vicious usuages, should be abolished. 

Yours truly, 

John Quincy Adams. 

Now, Mr. Wilson, compare that advice of John 
Quincy Adams with that of the recent advice of 
Teddy Eoosevelt, advising all the young men of the 
United States to become members of the Freemasons, 
swearing to have their throats cut from ear to ear if 
they do not keep their Brother Mason's oath as 
secret as their own. Is it any wonder that we are 
afraid to open the morning newspapers for fear of 
reading some of the most disgraceful slanders that 
ever disgraced the history of the civilized world? 
Now, Mr. Wilson, read this list of peccadilloes, and 
if you can get some paper to give it to their readers 
I will furnish you with some other extracts from 
John Quincy Adams and other patriots that left 
honorable records for us to imitate. 

I am, dear sir, very truly yours, 

J. B. Corey. 



226 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 



Chapter 8 

SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF THE 

HON. THOMAS MELLON. 

(By James Henry Seymour). 

Among the noble and successful men who have 
given character and influence to the bar of Western 
Pennsylvania, Judge Thomas Mellon of Pitts- 
burgh, has a right to a prominent place among the 
distinguished jurists. During the last decade and a 
half, he has given his , attention to his own personal 
matters of business, but for thirty years of the best 
portion of his life, he could be found at the bar or 
on the bench; doing one man's full and loyal duty; 
and again, each day a new hold on the confidence 
and respect of the public. As a lawyer, he had few 
peers within the circuit of his work;' as a Judge, he 
was just, learned, and able ; and as a man, he ever 
lived uprightly, and with . marked loyalty to every 
personal and public relation in life. 

Judge Mellon was of Scotch Irish descent, came 
of a family that has long been held in honor and 
esteem, and has given many useful men and women 
to the world and many examples of the highest 
worth. The genealogical tree, of which he was one of 
the latest and most worthy productions, finds its 
earliest roots in a period over two hundred years 
back, or shortly after the massacre of the Prot- 
estant by the Catholics in Ireland in 1641. Archi- 
bald Mellon, who sold his ancestral home and emi- 
grated to' the United States in 1816, died at his home 
in Unity, Westmoreland County, September 5th, 




HON. THOS. MELLON AND WIFE. 

1S85. 
(See pages 81, 226.) 




THEODORE WOOD, 

School Teacher. 

1905. 



ELECTRIC VOTING MACHINE. 

(See page 32 9.) 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 227 

1835, beloved by all who bad fallen in the range of 
his acquaintance. His son, Andrew ' Mellon, was 
born on February 7th, 1785, and married Rebecca 
Wauchob, in 1812, a descendant of a noted and 
honorable Holland family, and is the Grandmother 
of A. W. Mellon, President of the Mellon National 
jcsank of Pittsburgh, Pa. As a wife, she was a help- 
mate in' all the qualities indicated by that forcible 
term; and as a mother, she was all that tenderness, 
and self-sacrifice could make her. Her strong com- 
mon sense made her a valuable adviser even in the 
most important affairs. She had a philosophy of 
her own by which she guaged everything that tran- 
spired, and believed in the wisdom of desiring neither 
poverty nor riches ; but struggling for wealth and 
competence as affording independence. She shunned 
extremes, and approved the middle course in life. 
She survived her husband eleven years and died 
May 9th, 1868, in the 79th year of her age. 

Hon. Thomas Mellon, the oldest child of this 
worthy couple was born February 3rd, 1813, at 
Camp Hill cottage, on his father's farm lower Cas- 
tleton parish of Cappaigh, County of Tyrone, Ire- 
land. When he was fiye years old his parents de- 
cided to follow the fortunes of the majority of their 
family, who had already emigrated to America. 
They landed at St. John, New Brunswick, and as 
England at this time was in no friendly mood towards 
the United States and would clear no ships except 
to ports in her own domain, the voyage occupied 
twelve weeks, and on landing, they re shipped on a 
coasting vessel to Baltimore, which they reached 
October 1st, 1818. After a couple of days there, the 
father chartered a Conestoga wagon, and team, and 
the last stage of their journey was commenced. At 
night they halted and slept in the wagon ; their meals 
were cooked at fires built by the roadside; and, 
finally arriving at the homes of their relatives in 



228 Memoik and Personal Kecollection. 

Greensburg, Westmoreland County, Pa. In April 
they moved to a farm of their own, purchased in 
Franklin Township, and felt they had indeed found 
a welcome home in the new land across the sea. In 
this home, Hon. Thomas Mellon passed the next fif- 
teen years of his life, covering the period of youth, 
and taking him up to the door of manhood of which 
he made such noble use. It was in the home train- 
ing that were implanted in his nature those rootf 
principles of right and duty, tenacity of purpose, 
patient industry, and perseverance in well-doing 
which have accompanied him through life. His 
work at times was severe ; and there were not manyi 
luxuries to be had in those early days, but he was 
strong and his heart pure, his mind clear and active, 
and his hope of the future strong and well defined. 
He had courage and faith in himself, and his youth 
was full of brightness, even if it was full of soil. He 
was put to the plough when only twelve years of; 
age, but such was the bent of his mind, and his thirst 
for knowledge, that even at that tender age he was 
reading Shakespeare, which he had found in pamph- 
let form belonging to an uncle. When he was 14 
years old, a dilapadated copy of Benjamin Frank- 
lin's autobiography fell into his hands. It de- 
lighted him with a wider view of life, inspired him 
with new ambition, started his thoughts in new chan- 
nels. He read the book again and again, and hope 
grew strong in his heart, that the path upward to 
usefulness that enabled one poor and friendless 
boy 's feet to ascend the ladder of fame might be 
open to others of his like. The older he grew, the 
more he studied and read, the less affection did he 
feel for the farmer's life. He aspired to an educa- 
tion better than his school facilities afforded, and in' 
this desire, he had his mother's encouragement and 
helpful suggestions. The father was strong in the 
belief that a farmer's life was the best and truest 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 229 

to which men could aspire, opposed his purpose of 
entering a profession, but the determination of the 
son was so strong that even this barrier was finally 
worn away. In the summer of 1834, after a pre- 
paratory course, he entered the Western University 
and with diligence made marked progress from the 
start, but his father often needed his assistance on 
the farm, and in the summer months he frequently 
would walk home from the city, 11 miles, between 
sundown and midnight to be ready for the harvest 
field the next day. Eeceiving his diploma, in the fall 
of 1837, he entered the office of Hon. Charles Shaler, 
ex- Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and began a 
diligent course of legal study, accepted a position in 
the Prothonotary's office. The light and training 
he received there were of the greatest possible use 
in his profession and gave him an insight into the' 
law that nothing else could have afforded. He 
passed a credible examination, and was admitted to 
practice law December 15th, 1838. He had now en- 
tered on the serious labor of life ; well equipped in 
education and principles, and armed with a strong 
and earnest purpose, he opened a law office in Pitts- 
burgh in June, 1839, and almost from the first re- 
ceived a satisfactory share of the legal businessf 
then being done. His first office was located on 
Fifth Street, today Fifth Avenue and Market Alley. 
He has written a description of the situation of the 
lawyers and their offices in Pittsburgh in those early 
days, and I take the liberty of quoting it as a bit of 
interesting local history. " Fifth Avenue was not 
then a business street; mine was the first law office 
opened on it. The law offices were chiefly on the 
west side of the Diamond, behind the Court House,' 
A few on 4th Street between Market and Wood. It 
was before the Court House was removed to Grants 
Hill. As yet, a part of the lawyer Ross' apple or- 
chard rather out of town. The old Court House 



230 Memoie and Personal Recollection. 

stood where the Diamond Market house stands on 
west side of Market Street. The young lawyer 
made his way rapidly and the business and profits of 
the first year exceeded his most sanguine expecta- 
tions. But his friends were not surprised at his ad- 
vance, as they knew he possessed all the qualities 
demanded in his profession. His judgment was 
sound, he was of an earnest, cautious and pains-tak- 
ing disposition. He already had much experience 
in the 'methods and practice in the courts. These 
qualities won success, and in a short time, he found 
himself with all he could do, and with a fair start in 
a financial way. On August 22, 1843, Mr. Mellon 
took an important step in life but one he never had 
reason to regret, and that was fruitful of happiness 
and content. This was his marriage to Miss Sarah 
J. Negley, a daughter of one of the oldest families 
in "Western Pennsylvania. To their union a number 
of children have been born, and several of the sons 
are among the most substantial business men of the 
City of Pittsburgh, among which are J. R., A. W., 
and R. B., the principle stockholders and officers of 
the Mellon National Bank, the largest and most 
successful National Bank in the Iron City. In ad- 
dition to controlling interests in the leading Trust 
Companies, in 1859, he was elected assistant Judge 
of the Common Pleas Court, having equal authority 
with the present Judge. Judge Mellon, while on 
the bench, was such as might have been expected of 
a man of his character and training. He worked 
hard and tried to administer justice as it had been 
revealed to him. The course he pursued as Judge 
can perhaps be described in a better way than an 
extract or so from a speech he delivered at the 
Monongahela House in November, 1878, at a banquet 
tendered Judge Daniel Agnew on his retirement 
from the bench of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. 
The toast to which Judge Mellon was to respond 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 231 

was "The Judiciary of Allegheny County' ' and in 
course of his remarks he fully described by implica- 
tion some of the principles that guided his course 
while on the bench. Among other things he said: 
"There is no office of greater importance to the 
well being of society than that of the County Judge. 
The rights of person and property of every citizen 
are depending on its proper administration. Shin- 
ing qualities are not essential but no human attain- 
ments are beyond its requirements. In the Su- 
preme Court, the Judge has to deliberate with un- 
divided attention to the law of the case ; but the 
Judge of the lower Court must shoot on the wing as 
he is expected to bag two different flocks with the 
same shot. He must include both the law and facts 
and couple them together in their true relations as 
they arise in the shifting panorama of the trial. All 
judicial experience proves that justice cannot be 
judicially administered by tossing the evidence to 
the jury as a farmer would a bundle of hay to his 
cattle to be devoured indiscriminately, weeds and all ; 
and although the law and the evidence may be ex- 
plained ever so clearly, the Judge will find it fre- 
quently incumbent on him to grant a new trial to 
prevent injustice *******. 

Success in the discharge of these varied duties' 
requires not only a knowledge of the law, practical 
experience at the bar, but also a large stock of com- 
mon sense and an intimate knowledge of the springs 
of human action. Such varied good qualities in a 
Judge can, of course, be found only in degree ; but 
according to the degree, so will be his qualifications 
for the office ****** Judge Mellon 's private in- 
terests had grown to such a point that he decided 
toward the end of his term of office that under no 
circumstances would he accept a re-nomination of 
the office. In 1849, he became largely interested in 
the coal business on the Pennsylvania Canal in 



232 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

Tarentum, Allegheny County. In 1859, he became 
a silent partner in the firm of J. B. Corey & Co. en- 
gaged in shipping coal to the southern markets via 
Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers. He also was inter- 
ested in a large furnace property in West Virginia, 
in addition to being interested with his sons in the 
real estate business under title of Mellon Brothers. 
He decided that he would engage in the banking busi- 
ness and purchased a lot on the corner of Fifth Ave- 
nue and Smithfield Street and on January 1st, 1870, 
the present banking house of the Mellon Bank was 
ready and the bank of T. Mellon & Sons opened up 
and started a successful career. He also interested 
himself in the various banks and other financial in- 
stitutions of Pittsburgh, and invested largely in coal 
lands on the lines of the various Railroads entering 
into the City, constructing some of the most exten- 
sive coal mines in operation; and through these 
lines of business activity and many others, Judge 
Mellon was as his sons are today, one of the potent 
commercial and financial forces that are working to- 
gether to make The Iron City the great mart it is 
today. Great as was his interest in the business 
welfare of his adopted city, he, nevertheless, with- 
out sounding a trumpet in the synagogue and on the 
streets, took a deep interest in the moral and social 
welfare of his friends and neighbors and fellow citi- 
zens. To his co-partners in any of the various busi- 
nesses in which he was interested, he, in case of ad- 
versity wherever the man proved himself worthy 
of his confidence made personal sacrifices to pre- 
vent loss. In this, I write from my own personal 
experience as a silent partner of the J. B. Corey & 
Co. When the Southern States seceded and confis- 
cated our coal lying at New Orleans, bankrupting 
our company fifty thousand dollars worse than noth- 
ing, as things looked having a large amount of notes 
falling due and no money to meet them, I called on 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 233 

the Judge and said to him, I am not able to pay my 
share of what we owe ; if you will take my share of 
the property and pay the notes as they fall due, I 
will give you my notes for ten thousand dollars iii 
ten annual payments. He replied : " I will take care 
of the notes ; you take care of the mine and stock ; 
they will need coal and it may turn out better than 
you expect". I took his advice, and the result was, 
we recovered our coal confiscated by the confeder- 
ates at New Orleans, and the great increase in the 
price of coal along with the sale of our coal mine anot 
personal property, when we dissolved our co-part- 
nership in 1864, we had over two hundred thousand 
dollars to divide equally between the five co-part- 
ners. But that which has been of even greater 
financial benefit to me was friendship for and confi- 
dence in each other, of him and his sons in the busi- 
ness relations maintained during the past 55 years, 
by which I have been enabled to add to the dividends 
of Coal and Bank stocks. But pleasant as has been 
these business relations, that which affords me the 
greatest pleasure in 1914, as my eyes grow dim and 
my ears grow dull of hearing, in recalling the pleas- 
ant relations of my old and best friend is the recol- 
lection of his confidence in my integrity, and friend- 
ship by which I had the pleasure of making him 
weekly and monthly visits during his declining 
years, when he was shut in from the active pursuits 
of his early life. The seeming pleasure it gave him 
when I used to sing Psalms and hymns for him, 
making melody in our hearts to the Lord. It stirs 
my emotions as I recall my last visit when we stood 
on our feet and sang the 23rd Psalm. He, with de- 
light, said: "Is not that beautiful f" I little 
thought that would be the last time I would see my 
oldest and best friend alive. But a day or two after, 
he closed his eyes on earth, as I firmly believe, to 



234 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

open them in heaven, (Amen, so let it be). On his 
95th birthday, February 3rd, 1908, where I hope I 
shall, in the near future, meet him. 

In that sunbright clime, unhurt by sorrow, un- 

dimmed by time, 
Where amid all things that is fair are given, 
The home of the blessed and its name in heaven, 
The name of that sunbright clime. 




APPENDIX 

— of — 

Miscellaneous Events, Correspondence, 
Opinions, Etc. 



TOBACCO. 

My Views and Observations. 

My personal experience and observations on 
the use and effects of Tobacco have been so forcible 
that I have always felt it my duty to lend all the in- 
fluence in my power against this filthy and pernicious 
habit. 

In view of the great reputation of James J. 
Jeffries, a former heavy-weight Champion Boxer of 
the World, I will quote below my correspondence 
with him showing the deleterious effect of tobacco, 
particularly because it is pretty well known that the 
cause of his failure to defeat the pugilist, Jack 
Johnson, was his inability to regain his strength and 
nerve, due to tobacco. 

(My letter to Mr. Jeffries, March 8, 1909). 

"If you will pardon me (an entire stranger who 
was never in sympathy with prize fighting) for tak- 
ing this liberty, I will suggest you have it in your 
power to atone in a great measure for the manifest 
and great moral evil, your profession exerts upon 

235 



236 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

the young men of the civilized world in general, and 
of your own nation in particular. 

I acknowledge that in athletic training, that 
there are some good physical benefits that counter- 
act to some extent the evil effects resulting from 
prize fighting, but I think you will admit that the 
evil effects are greater than any, or all, the good that 
results from the profession. 

If you will allow me, I will say that if you take 
advantage of the opportunity, you have it in your 
power to render the young men of our own country 
a greater good than had ever been rendered them by 
any and all of the prize fighters that have ever en- 
tered the American ring. Not only so, but you can 
deliver with your right hand a ' Solar Plexus' to the 
greatest physical and social curse to which our 
American Boys are addicted — the Tobacco habit. 

The filthy tobacco habit which is destroying the 
manhood and leading to other vices, our young men 
and boys, has been increased of late one hundred 
fold from reading, as they ride in cars, painted on 
board fences, pig pens, cow stables, outhouses, whis- 
key saloons, and tobacco dives, such disgusting ad- 
vertisements as ' Judge Taft smokes 5 cent Cigars' 
or ' Smoke Judge Taft', '5 cent tobies', etc., using 
the prestige of the President of the United States to 
allure young men and boys to engage in this filthy 
habit. What a spectacle for Jehovah, Angels and 
Men ! The man that is not ashamed of such an un- 
patriotic display of vileness is only capable of 
1 Strategy, Treason and Spoils'. 

I do not think that any man since we were a 
nation ever had the opportunity to deliver a great 
physical and moral evil, the body blows that Jim 
Jeffries has of dealing to this filthy tobacco habit. 
Not only so, but you can do it without even being 
suspected of giving this great curse, a solar plexus 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 237 

under the fifth rib. If, Mr. Jeffries, you will say to 
the newspaper reporters that your greatest trouble 
will be, which you know it is, to get in shape to wrest 
the Champion 's belt from the Negro, will be to get the 
nicotine out of your blood, which has been secreted 
there from the filthy tobacco habit, and also add 
that a man who expects or desires to be a Champion 
Athlete, wants to let tobacco alone in every shape. 

I hope, Mr. Jeffries, that you will favorably 
consider this suggestion and render our American 
Boys the greatest possible good anyone has ren- 
dered them and counteract the filthy example set 
them by 'Bill Taft\ Please consider this private 
and confidential. I have written this myself on the 
typewriter. I will be 77 years old if I live to the 
23rd of next month. 

I am, dear sir, 

Sincerely yours, 

J. B. Corey." 



Mr. Jeffries ' Reply of March 16, 1909. 

"Answering yours of March 6th, will state that 
I am sincerely in sympathy with your efforts on the 
subject of the use of tobacco, and any time, or in 
any way, that you can suggest that I can be of ser- 
vice in advising young men to avoid this habit, I 
will be pleased to do so. I always mention it in ar- 
ticles that I write for papers. 

With best wishes for yourself and again ex- 
pressing my sympathy with your idea, I remain, 

Very sincerely yours, 

Jas. J. Jeffries." 



238 Memois and Peksonal Becollection. 

As of possible further interest I will give below 
an extract from an address delivered to the General 
Class Meeting in the United Evangelical Church, 
Braddock, Pa., September 14th, 1913: 

" Having therefore these promises, dearly- 
beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthi- 
ness of the flesh, and spirit, perfecting holiness 
in the fear of God." II. Cor. 7-1. 

I do not think that there is a candid man in this 
house but will admit that it has been and is demon- 
strated, that the use of tobacco is a filthy habit, and 
a dangerous, useless, expensive habit, involving the 
health of the user of the weed. It will not be denied 
that prominent professors of all our churches in- 
dulge in it — chewing tobacco, defiling pavements, 
station houses, railroad and street cars, blowing 
their smoke into the faces of other persons, espec- 
ially ladies, to whom it is very offensive ; and other 
acts of incivility which no Christian man would be 
guilty of. Now as to its being a filthy habit, I will 
give you the testimony of one or two Christian min- 
isters, who are regarded as not only the highest au- 
thority on religious questions, but by long evangel- 
istic experience in preaching the Gospel and rescu- 
ing the perishing, knew whereof they were testify- 
ing. Before naming them let me quote from even a 
higher authority. "Though hand join in hand the 
wicked shall not go unpunished, but the seed of the 
righteous be delivered". 

The Methodist Episcopal Church and all its 
branches, The Wesleyan Methodist, Free Methodist, 
etc., and the churches of the Evangelical Associa- 
tion, all have established rules that no one can be 
licensed to preach unless he promises to have noth- 
ing to do with tobacco in any form. I have not had 
an opportunity to get authoritive statistics from 
many of the churches, but I am sure that a test 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 239 

would show that true Christianity and cleanliness — 
Christian purity — go hand in hand in most of them, 
and that people generally have more respect for, 
and confidence in, Ministers who do not use tobacco. 
The steam railroads, says Rev. Sewell, are obliged 
to pen off the tobacco users from the clean people in 
smoking cars. ' ' In the electric cars, which run past 
my home, a partition is run across the front end so 
that the smokers can be set off by themselves ; other- 
wise, the company would lose much cash, because 
clean folk would seek other conveyance. ' ' Mr. Alfred 
L. Sewell, Editor of the "Little Corporal ' for more 
than 60 years a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, and Editor from whose article in the Pitts- 
burgh Christian Advocate, above quotations are 
taken, says: "Tobacco is an Indian weed; it was 
the devil that sowed the seed." 

There is a great "howl in Denmark" over the 
cost of living today; E. R. Langworthy, in the 
Minnesota Spring Valley says this country spends 
annually $1,200,000,000 for tobacco, $400,000,000 are 
used for pipes, that 7,500,000,000 cigars are smoked 
annually, and over 11,000,000,000 cigarettes. Think 
of it! I have been doing a little figuring. Suppose 
the cigars averaged four inches in length and the 
cigarettes two inches, the cigars and cigarettes 
smoked annually by the people would extend 
about 820,707 miles or enough to encircle our 
globe more than 32 times ; the money spent annually 
would build over 200,000 homes at $1,000 a piece, and 
figuring five persons for each house would build 
homes for 6,000,000 people. 

D. L. Moody was once asked : ' ' Can a man be a 
Christian and use tobacco?' ' His answer was: 
"Yes, he can be a dirty Christian". 

The great evangelist, Billy Sunday, when asked 
the same question in South Bend recently quoted 
Mr. Moody's reply. 



240 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

"Whoever heard of a dirty Christian? You 
might as well talk of clean sinners. A man cannot 
keep saved and use tobacco in any form. Church 
members may and do smoke, professing Christians 
do, but none who are really walking in the footsteps 
of Jesus do. It is about time that preachers drew 
the line closely where it belongs. A man that is 
using tobacco is not a fit candidate for sanctifica- 
tion". 

H. E. Hastings, in the "Safe Guard" asks and 
answers the question: "Is it a sin to use tobacco ?" 
Why not? Using tobacco is an expensive and waste- 
ful habit; tobacco costing more than bread; and is 
not needless waste a sin? What right have Chris- 
tian men to waste the Lord's money in useless and 
expensive indulgence? What right have they to 
burn up that which might feed and clothe the poor? 
The use of tobacco is certainly needless; for many 
do without it and are none the worse. Many who 
once used it have abandoned it to their great ad- 
vantage, and the civilized world got on comfortably 
without tobacco from the time of the creation down 
to the discovery of America, when white men learned 
the nasty habit from the naked savage, giving them 
in return the devil's firewater to ruin them body and 
soul. 

Tobacco using is an unhealthy practice. Thou- 
sands are doubtless in their graves today who might 
have been alive and well if they had let this poison- 
ous drug alone. Another writer says that it is ad- 
mitted that tobacco is the cause of eighty diseases, 
that kill 20,000 annually. It also creates an appetite 
for liquor. There is now and then a dyspeptic old 
glutton who thinks that tobacco does him good, and 
that he cannot digest his food without it ; just as 
there are men who think that they can do without 
strong drink, but if such men were put on short 
allowance for a little while and made to earn the 



Memoik and Personal Recollection. 241 

little they eat, their stomachs would soon take care 
of a reasonable amount of food without the aid of 
this narcotic. 

Tobacco, like other narcotics, holds men with a 
grasp which they do not anticipate or realize. Any 
healthful article of food can be dispensed with with- 
out inconvenience. It is the case with all unnatural 
appetites. They become tyrants and drive their 
slaves headlong to ruin. 



Farewell Sermon Read by Request in City of 
Jerusalem, April 7th, 1912. 

"Follow peace with All Men and Holiness, ivithout 
which no man shall see the Lord". 

To disarm your fears and allay the thought that 
Brother Corey, like all novices in preaching, selects 
one of the most profound subjects and important 
doctrines in the Bible, you will permit me to say, 
while I am not a preacher, nor the son of a preacher, 
the thoughts which I propose to read upon the text 
quoted are not the product of my own brain and re- 
search ; but in addition to being the teaching of Him 
who spake as never man spake, and His inspired 
Apostles, they are also the testimony and experience 
of some of the most eminent scholars, teachers, min- 
isters, laymen, and holy men and women, the history 
of the Christian Church has given to the world. 

My reasons for selecting this subject in addi- 
tion to those given in the text are these : Having 
received from you this high tribute of respect, you 
will appreciate my desire to reciprocate your kind- 
ness by rendering you the best possible service in 



242 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

my power. The object of religious services like 
these is to aid each other in acquiring a knowledge 
of what the Bible teaches is necessary for us "To 
read our titles clear to mansions in the skies". To 
lead into and build each other up in our religious 
experience. It seems to me that I could not do bet- 
ter than to call attention to what Jesus says in His 
sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the pure in heart 
for they shall see God". And without which the 
Apostle says: "No man shall see the Lord". Here 
we have not only the strongest possible doctrinal 
truth of the necessity of holiness that can be given, 
but also in the testimony and experience of the holy 
men and women, whose pure lives, peaceful and 
triumphant deaths, give to the history of the Chris- 
tian Church its strongest claims upon the confidence 
of the world. The only stronger testimony that any 
individual can have is the divine impartation or 
baptism of the Holy Spirit on their own hearts, wit- 
nessing to their own conscience that they have be- 
come heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ 
to an inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled 
and fadeth not away. Confirming in their individ- 
ual experience all the benefits of the promises in the 
atoning Blood of Jesus Christ. 

John Wesley admonishes Methodists to take 
heed to doctrine ; to take heed to experience ; to take 
heed to discipline. He says, to give heed to doc- 
trine and neglect experience is to become antino- 
main. To give heed to experience and neglect doc- 
trine is to become enthusiasts. To give heed to 
doctrine and experience and neglect discipline is to 
leave a highly cultivated garden to the wild bear of 
the woods. The Apostle says : ' ' Having these prom- 
ises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all 
filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness 
in the fear of God". 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 243 

The doctrine of Holiness is the theme of our 
text. You will permit me to say that the history of 
the Christian Church does not furnish an instance of 
any great revival of religion that has ever taken 
place in the world in which the doctrine of holiness 
has not been the preacher's most prominent theme. 
Salvation from sin, and entire sanctification wher- 
ever preached is always accompanied with a revival 
of religion that has left its mark on this sin-cursed 
earth. It was the promulgation of this Bible doc- 
trine that enabled Jonathan Edwards to plant Pres- 
byterianism solidly on this continent over one 
hundred years ago. John Wesley said: "That God 
raised up the Methodist to spread abroad scripture 
holiness". I am afraid it will have to be admitted 
that both in doctrine and experience, we latter day 
Methodists fall far short of the high ideal that our 
recognized founder in his sermons and his Brother 
Charles in his hymns, assign as the reason for God 
raising up the Methodist Church over one hundred 
years ago. It was the preaching of this same doc- 
trine of salvation from all sin that gave to Charles 
G. Finney's labors such wonderful success. It was 
also the secret of the power that enabled the late D. 
L. Moody to leave his mark upon the history of the 
Christian Church. These eminent ministers are all 
sleeping in their graves, but their works do follow 
them and their names continue to grow brighter and 
brighter, leaving us an example that "Obedience is 
better than sacrifice". God has ever had His true 
witnesses, both in the old and new dispensations. 
The tendency of the church has ever been to back- 
slide from the standard set up in God's Holy Word; 
that has in all past history of the Church been its 
one great weakness. It has not been the Jews alone 
who have cried: "Away with Him, give us Barrab- 
bas". The epidemic of crime and wickedness seen 
everywhere would seem to indicate that we are in 



244 Memoik and Personal Recollection. 

the last days and that perilous times are upon us. 
What the world needs ; what the church needs ; is a 
revival of the old-time doctrines which ever have 
given it its greatest influence and power in the 
earth. 

It is not a spectacular Christianity, consisting 
of fine cathedrals and $300,000 churches, but a re- 
vival of the Gospel of Holiness that changes the 
hearts and lives of men and women, we need today. 
Mr. Wesley warned the Methodists against building 
fine churches. He said fine churches necessitated 
rich men, and that when rich men became a neces- 
sity, farewell to spirituality. 

The Why and How of Depravity in the 

Regenerate Man. 

Rev. Coffee says an investigation of the status 
of man before and after conversion will assist us in 
understanding why and how it is original sin re- 
mains in the heart of the regenerate man. Let us 
inquire what is the spiritual condition of man in 
sin ? The scriptures teach us that he is dead spirit- 
ually. The Apostle Paul describes men as living 
alienated from the life of God. The Apostle John 
teaches the same thought, "We know we have 
passed from death to life". The Saviour describes 
the conversion of a man passing from death unto 
life in John 5:xiv. It is clear from the scriptures 
that a man in sin is spiritually dead. Spiritual 
death is the universal inheritance of the race. Be- 
ing dead, his spiritual faculties by which he ap- 
proaches God and spiritual things, are asleep. In 
this condition sin has permeated his soul, and entire 
being. He is described as follows : The whole head 
is sick ; the whole heart is faint ; from the sole of the 
foot to the crown of the head there is no soundness 
in him. Let us now inquire what is requisite to con- 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 245 

stitute a man, a new creature in Christ. He needs 
new spiritual life. This is the reason he needs to be 
born again. His birth by nature is a moral failure. 
In that spiritual life was not transmitted, he must 
be born of God, the generative source of all spiritual 
life. We must come into Union with the Son of 
God. He that hath the Son, hath life ; he must feel 
the Spirit 's power ; the soul must become dominant 
instead of the flesh. A new heart is a requisite. 
The will and affections must be changed and set in 
the right direction. ' ' The things I once loved I now 
hate, and the things I once hated I now love ' '. In a 
word, he must be made a new creature in Christ 
Jesus ; a new moral character is the result. And 
while all this has taken place in the soul being, there 
has been but a reconstruction, not a re-creation. 
The soul taint has not been removed, but remains 
and so far has not been dealt with. The incoming 
of life has quickened the faculties. The soul now 
quickens to new desires, new appetites, and new 
spiritual passions are enkindled. In all this expe- 
rience a new creature has been born. The soul 
awakens, sees her prostitution to the dominance of 
the flesh, and has arisen to a sense of its own im- 
portance; but the soul has not been wholly renewed 
in the image of Him who created it, nor cleansed 
from the taints of sin. Hence the necessity of the 
orthodox second work of grace or entire sanctifica- 
tion. 

But to the text: "Follow peace with all men 
and holiness without which no man shall see the 
Lord". 

A writer in the "Evangelical Messenger" says : 
' ' One phase of holiness is that it is a real and con- 
scious power by whomsoever experienced. It is 
power in action conducting to man's highest well- 
being, and to God's glory. Holiness is not intended 
to be so much ornamental as diffusive, and in every 



246 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

way possible effective in accomplishing good. The 
Bible lays great stress npon holiness and so should 
the church as a body, and each minister and Chris- 
tian in particular. There is something peculiarly 
fascinating about the subject of holiness when prop- 
erly presented. The bulk of Christians love to hear 
sermons on the subject. It reveals some noted 
privileges and blessings under the economy of grace 
if properly directed and controlled. Holiness and 
power are inseparable. "Ye shall receive power 
after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you". 

1. "Holiness is divine power. As holiness is 
not self -evolved but divinely inwrought, even so that 
the power that goes with the realization of holiness 
is divine in its nature, operations and effects. Holi- 
ness is a gift from Cod, even so is the power insep- 
arable connected with holiness a gift from God. We 
are to be holy even as He is holy. Of course, not in 
the same degree, but in essence and effectiveness. 
God's power is commensurate with His holiness the 
christian power is in ratio to the degree of holiness 
he possesses. The results of this holiness power 
are often divine. This was demonstrated on the day 
of Penticost. Peter was vacillating prior to his ex- 
perience of the baptism of the Holy Ghost in Pente- 
cost fullness". 

2. "This is power for victory. That minister 
in Germany uttered a tremendous truth when he de- 
clared in a paper which he read before a body of 
ministers ' The Holy Ghost knows no difficulties \ If 
that is so, then sermons and a. true Christian life 
should be well nigh overwhelming and conclusively 
convincing, leading to glorious and Pentecostal vic- 
tories. The victory to be achieved is first indi- 
vidual, then collective. As our discipline so forcibly 
puts it. 'We have complete victory over sin, both 
inwardly and outwardly'. It is a complete personal 
victory over sin and selfishness which is the very 



Memoik and Personal Recollection. 247 

quintessence of sin. It gives the individual the 
mastery over the onslaughts of the devil and evil 
disposed men. Then it gives power to win men to 
Christ, and thus it becomes in strumen tally helpful to 
others in gaining the victory". 

3. "This is power for service. Service in the 
church, in the family, in the community, in the state, 
in the nation, social, industrial, financial, and polit- 
ical. This is an age that calls for, and demands con- 
centrated and heroic service. Paul says: 'The love 
of Christ constraineth us'. Holiness intensifies ac- 
tion, and stimulates service, so genuine holiness will 
be a strong impulse in the direction of manifold and 
divinely guided service. Holiness in action is love 
at white heat. This will provoke good works. It 
will, yea must, eventuate in God honoring, and man 
benefiting fruitfulness. Holiness is power and en- 
durance. 'We are to endure hardness as good sol- 
diers of Jesus Christ'. This holiness power is what 
sustained the pious Payson in his life of continuous 
suffering, the poet Milton in his blindness, as also 
the blind poetess Fannie Crosby, and the charming 
singer Sankey, and many other departed, and some 
still living personalties among the heroic soldiers of 
the cross". 

4. "Holiness power is for self-denial. There 
are strange and divergant views among Christian 
people as to what really constitutes self denial. Real 
self denial will cost the individual something. It 
will be a privation for the sake of others, it may be 
to bear a heavy cross for Christ's sake, and for the 
advancement of his kingdom. This is exemplified 
in Paton, the almost life long missionary, having 
been denied the privileges, blessings, and associa- 
tions of kindred institutions of his native land. 
The same spirit of self denial is exhibited by our 
missionaries in foreign lands as also by our workers- 



248 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

at home. Holiness supplies the needed grace and 
strength. It upheld Polycapus when lying in a 
damp cell, his freedom having been offered to him on 
condition that he recant his faith in Christ ; he re- 
plied : ' Eighty and six years he has been my best 
and truest friend, why should I now, in my old age 
forsake him? I will remain in this cell until the 
moss grows over my eye brows, rather than recant 
my faith in Christ' ". 

Dr. Adam Clarke, the greatest Biblical com- 
mentator Methodism ever gave to the Church, hav- 
ing no superior if an equal, comments as follows on 
the text : * ' Cultivate as far as you can a good under- 
standing both with the Jew and Gentiles, pursue 
peace with the same care, attention, and diligence as 
beasts do their game ; follow it through all places ; 
trace it through all winding circumstances, and have 
it with all men, if you can with a safe conscience and 
holiness; that state of continual sanctification, that 
life of purity and detachment from the world, and 
all is lusts without which detachment, and sanctity 
no man shall see the Lord. Shall never enjoy His 
presence in the world of blessedness. To see God is 
a Hebrew phrase; to enjoy Him; and without holi- 
ness of heart and life this is impossible. No soul 
can be fit for heaven that has not suitable disposi- 
tions for the place. It will hardly be possible to 
harmonize Dr. Clarke's doctrine with that type of 
religious sentiment that finds more pleasure in 
eucher parties than the class or prayer meeting; in 
attending theaters, and the ball rooms ; having these 
promises; says Paul: "Let us cleanse ourselves, 
etc." Dr. Clarke says that the Apostle means, from 
drunkenness, fornication, adultery, and all such sins 
as are done immediately against the body; and filthi- 
ness of the spirit; all impure desires, unholy 
thoughts, and polluting imaginations. If we avoid 
and abhor evil inclinations, and turn our eyes from 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 249 

beholding vanity, incentives to evil being thus les- 
sened, there will be less danger of our falling into 
outward sin. If we avoid all outward occasions of 
sinning, evil propensities will certainly be lessened. 
All this is our work under the common aids of the 
grace of God. We may turn away our eyes and 
ears from evil, or we may indulge both in what will 
infallibly beget evil desires, and tempers in the soul, 
and under the same influence we may avoid every 
act of iniquity, for even Satan himself cannot by any 
power he has, constrain us to commit uncleanness, 
robbery, drunkenness, murder, etc. These are 
things in which both the soul and body must con- 
sent. But still the withholding the eye, the ear, the 
hand, and body in general from sights, reports and 
acts of evil, will not purify a fallen spirit. It is the 
grace of Christ alone, powerfully applied for this 
very purpose that can purify the conscience, and 
heart from dead works. But if we do not withhold 
the food by which the man of sin is nourished and 
supported, we cannot expect God to purify our 
hearts. While we are striving against sin, we may 
expect the Spirit of God to purify us by His inspira- 
tion from all unrighteousness, so that we may per- 
fectly love, and magnify our maker. How can those 
expect God to purify their hearts who are contin- 
ually indulging their eyes, ears, and hands in what 
is forbidden, and tends to increase, and bring into 
action all the evil propensities of the soul? Per- 
fecting holiness. Getting the whole mind of Christ 
brought into the soul. This is the object of a gen- 
uine christian pursuit. The means of accomplishing 
this, are, first ; resisting and avoiding sin in all its 
inviting and seducing forms. Second, setting the 
fear of God before our eyes, that we may dread His 
displeasure, and abhor whatever might excite it, and 
whatever might provoke him to withhold his manna 
from our mouth. We see therefore that there is a 



250 Memoib and Peksonal Recollection. 

strong and orthodox sense in which we may cleanse 
ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, 
and thus perfect holiness in the fear of God. If 
those latter day saints, who are so much opposed to 
the doctrine of holiness, will carefully weigh D. C. 's 
reasons, and arguments, they may see that they rest 
upon the strong foundation of scripture and com- 
mon sense, and that they may not be so much in- 
clined to i ' remove the ancient landmarks which our 
Fathers have set". The beloved disciple, St. John, 
in his first epistle 2-1 says : ' ' My little children, I 
write unto you that ye sin not". This is the lan- 
guage of the whole scripture, of every dispensation, 
ordinance, institution, doctrine, and word of God. 
Sin not, do not run into ruin. Live not so as to pro- 
mote your own misery ; be happy, for it is the will 
of God that ye should be so. Be holy. Holiness 
and happiness are inseparable. Sin and misery are 
equally so. The Apostle Paul certainly makes the 
experience of holiness the sole condition upon which 
any man or woman shall see God. Jesus Christ in 
His sermon on the Mount says: "Blessed are the 
pure in heart for they shall see God". A principal 
part of the Jewish religion consisted in outward 
washings and cleansings. On this ground they ex- 
pected to see God and to enjoy eternal glory. But 
Christ here shows that this purification of heart 
from all vile affections and desires, is the one thing 
needful. He whose soul is not delivered from all sin 
through the blood of the covenant can have no 
scriptural hope of ever being with God. In the 48th 
verse we read: "Be ye therefore perfect even as 
your Father in heaven is perfect". God himself is 
the grand law, soul giver, and only pattern of the 
perfection which He recommends to His children. 
The words are every emphatic. "Ye shall be there- 
fore perfect — Ye shall be filled with the spirit of that 
God whose name is Mercy, and whose nature is 



Memoik and Personal Recollection. 251 

Love ' '. God has many imitators of his power, in- 
dependence, justice, etc., but few of his love, con- 
descension and kindness. He calls himself Love to 
teach us that in this consists the perfection the at- 
tainment of which he has made both our duty and 
privilege, for these words of our Lord include both a 
command and promise. Can we be saved from sin 
in this world is an important question to which this 
text gives a satisfactory answer. "Ye shall be per- 
fect even as your Father in heaven is perfect". "As 
in His infinite nature, there is no sin, nothing but 
goodness and love, so in your finite nature, there 
shall be no sin, for the law of the Spirit of life in 
Christ Jesus shall make you free from the law of 
sin and death". Romans 8:2. God shall live in, 
fill and rule your heart, and in what he fills and in- 
fluences Satan nor sin can have no part. 

These quotations to which I might ad-infinitum 
are the foundation principles upon which John and 
Charles Wesley and Mary Fletcher, and other Holy 
men and women, under the special blessings of God 
were instrumental in the great revival of the Eigh- 
teenth Century which resulted in the organizing and 
giving to the world the Methodist Church. Let me 
now give the testimony of three of the followers of 
those holy men and women who today are contend- 
ing for the faith once delivered to the Methodist 
saints. 

Brother W. G. McVey on some of the m&ny 
hindrances of his work says : "Mistaken conceptions 
of inherent depravity misleads persons seeking for 
this great blessing. Inherent or inbred depravity 
is more talked of than understood. Many preachers 
in efforts to clearly define the necessity of entire 
sanctification mystify their hearers instead of clari- 
fying their subject. I have seen holiness preachers 
give a blackboard exercise working a simple example 
of subtraction and then, as they supposed, anal- 



252 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

ogically tell their congregation that entire sanctifi- 
cation was a process of subtraction. Again, I have 
seen a glass of mud and water used, the water pre- 
sumably representing the soul after regeneration, 
and the mud in the bottom of the glass the sediment 
of sin remaining until entire sanctification. Such 
teaching and such illustrations are erroneous and 
misleading ' \ The soul is not a bucket into which may 
be poured so much grace, leaving a sediment of de- 
pravity which may be stirred upon provocation, pro- 
ducing what some, using their peculiar terminology, 
are pleased to call a condition of i ' riling up ' \ The 
process of sanctification is not, and cannot be, in this 
sense a process of subtraction. What then is it! 
We must first understand the nature of inherent de- 
pravity before the fact of entire sanctification can 
be made intelligible. Depravity is a propensity to 
sin. It is not sin in itself until the remedy for its 
correction is rejected; hence, we are not responsible 
for its being. It is natural and inborn. In justifi- 
cation, the actual transgressions (sins in act) are 
forgiven, and the inclination produced by the sins in 
act are corrected. What then remains f The inborn 
propensity to self -gratification ; the innate proneness 
to sin; the bent to wrong doing; hence, the justified 
soul may well express itself. " Prone to wander, 
Lord I feel it", and Charles Wesley correctly sings : 
"Take away our bent to sinning". Moreover this 
view of depravity is the only one consonant with the 
doctrine of inherited corruption. With the defini- 
tion before us, we can now understand the process 
and nature of entire sanctification. It is a process 
of rectification of soul tendencies. These natural 
inclinations and propensities of the soul are under 
the baptism of the Holy Spirit directly and posi- 
tively changed away from sin and self to holiness 
and God, so that the soul with all its powers, facul- 
ties, desires, tendencies, and affections finds its rest, 



Mbmoie and Personal Recollection. 253 

satisfaction, and joy in the center of the divine will. 

If we would further the cause of scriptural holi- 
ness we must exercise care as to statement, defini- 
tion, and illustration. Let us in doctrine show in- 
corruptness, gravity, sound, speech that cannot be 
condemned. 

Sister Laura A. Sill, whose clear definite expe- 
rience entitles her testimony to our earnest consid- 
eration, says: "Of all the soul qualities of which the 
Christian experience is composed, I know of few, if 
any, more valuable and necessary than endurance". 

Some time ago, I heard a new convert say I can- 
not understand the doctrine of holiness. The Bible 
says : " He that shall endure unto the end the same 
shall be saved". And it also says: "Without holi- 
ness, no man shall see the Lord. ' ' Sanctified people 
claim they have such an easy time, and nothing 
troubles them, and they don't have to endure any- 
thing. Now, I can't reconcile the two. Who are 
the people that endure? I fear the same question is 
in the minds of many new converts. The sanctified 
people have something so much better to speak of 
than their trials and temptations that they don't 
worry very much about them. They feel that it 
will glorify the Lord more to tell of their joys, tri- 
umphs, and victories, yet I fear this is sometimes 
misleading to new converts. They somehow get the 
impression that the experience of entire sanctifica- 
tion will bring them into a place where it is all joy, 
and everythng is easy, and where no trouble can 
come upon them. This is a very mistaken idea, and 
all christians who think this, are almost sure to go 
down when testings and trials come to them, as they 
do to all. We never get to such a high place, spirit- 
ually, that we will never have to endure things as 
long as we are in the probationary state; even Jesus 
had to endure. It is written of Him : ' * Who for the 
joy that was set before Him endured the cross, de- 



254 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

spising the shame and is now set down at the right 
hand of the throne of God". And the Word tells us 
to "Consider Him who endured such contradiction 
of sinners against himself, lest ye be weary and faint 
in your minds". How often we would faint in our 
minds if we did not consider Him. The Apostle 
James says: "Blessed is the man that endureth 
temptation". Anyone who has been assailed by the 
power of darkness so that it has seemed blacker 
around the soul than the darkest night that ever was 
when the heart has felt as heavy as lead so that it 
seemed impossible to lift it in prayer, knows there is 
something to endure. Though the same Apostle 
says: "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall 
into divers temptations". I believe it must mean 
when we have passed through the temptation, and 
have obtained victory, though in the darkest tempta- 
tion, when faith claims the victory, there is some- 
thing that sustains us which some might call joy, but 
I prefer to call it endurance. The Psalmist says : 
"I had fainted unless I had believed to see the good- 
ness of God in the land of the living". (Psalm 
27:13). He looked right over and beyond the trials 
and temptations and believed that God was going to 
deliver him, and he kept his soul from fainting, 
which is only another way of saying it helped him to 
endure it. Another thing we have to endure is the 
chastening of the Lord. The best of us are so slow 
often times to learn the lessons. He is trying to 
teach, and we make so many mistakes, that He has 
to occasionally apply the rod of correction. Hence 
we are told: "If we endure chastening God dealeth 
with you as with sons". And further on in the 
chapter it says : "Now no chastening for the present 
seemeth to be joyous but grievous; nevertheless, 
afterward it yieldeth the peaceful fruits of right- 
eousness to them who are exercised thereby". 
Sometimes the chastisement comes through physical 



Memoie and Peesonal Eecollectiof. 255, 

pain, and though we may be so yielded to the will of 
God in the matter, that there is no murmur or com- 
plaint, and we may even feel blest in our souls at the 
time, that the sufferings of the body are simply en- 
dured, not enjoyed. Or the suffering may be men- 
tal or spiritual. But whichever it is, it is only after 
we see "The peaceful fruits of righteousness", 
which it has worked in us, that we are enabled to 
"Count it all joy". Trouble must be endured. I 
once heard some one say: "A Christian has trials 
but no troubles if he is where he ought to be ' '. " He 
will cast his troubles on the Lord". Is this so? Can 
we get to such a place that nothing however griev- 
ous, will make the heart feel trouble ? Let the sanc- 
tified mother answer, whose son comes reeling home 
from the saloon night after night, or perhaps is con- 
fined behind prison bars, or the mother whose 
daughter is an inmate of a brothel, given over to a 
life of sin and shame, or asked one who has some 
dearly loved one who commits suicide or becomes 
hopelessly insane. How wonderfully the grace of 
God can sustain those on whom even such troubles 
fall, so they can go through life and endure. But 
can such troubles be so entirely cast on the Lord 
that they become as though they were not, and never 
again trouble the heart while on earth? I cannot 
think so. Entire Sanctification never was designed 
to make stoics out of us, so that we cannot feel. 
Though it kills out the hyper-sensitiveness in us, so 
that our feelings are not easily hurt, we still have 
the capacity for enjoyment and suffering left, and 
there are still things to endure, else it would not 
have been told us in that beautiful love chapter, 
"Love endure th all things". What an admirable 
quality of soul, endurance is ! Yet it is so silent and 
obscure that it is often lost sight of, and the other 
virtues exalted above it. But of what use would it 
be to have a heart filled with love, peace, joy, and all 



256 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

the other graces of the Spirit, and not endure to the 
end? Here and there all ever the world is an ob- 
scure saint whose life is made up of patience and en- 
durance which scarcely anyone but the Lord takes 
note of. Herein is one of its beauties. It is not a 
showy gift of grace that people see and admire, and 
if it were asked who are the most spiritual members 
of your church, most people would point to those 
who often get blest and go leaping, shouting, skip- 
ping, and jumping over the house. 

I have nothing to say against these demonstra- 
tions of the spirit. Running, leaping, dancing, 
shouting, crying, laughing and singing, are all 
scriptural and I always love to see the saints get 
blest that way. But there was a deep Amen in the 
soul of the writer to a testimony she heard in a camp 
meeting recently. A sister said : ' ' I do not meas- 
ure my religion by how high I can jump, or how loud 
I can shout, though I often do both, but I measure it 
by what I can endure ' '. Then she went on to tell 
how the Lord had helped her to endure months of 
suffering and to hold on when she didn't feel any 
special blessing in her soul. Ah! that is the truest 
test after all. Though I think no one would claim that 
endurance may not go with these demonstrations 
also, and often does. It is a wonderful thing to get 
where God can trust us, where He can look down 
into our hearts and see that no matter what He per- 
mits to come upon us, that our souls will not give 
way, that we will not be shaken from the foundation, 
but that we will endure and remain steadfast to the 
end. He could trust Abraham, Job, and Paul, and 
many others both of the Old and New Testament 
saints, and their examples are left on record for our 
help and encouragement. All who will, can get to 
such a place. Has there ever been a Christian since 
the days of Paul who has not been inspired and 
strengthened by His words: "None of these things 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 257 

move me". He had come to the abiding place. 
When people get there, they need not be overthrown 
though all the powers of darkness be arrayed 
against them. They can ask the triumphant ques- 
tion as Paul did — "Who shall separate us from the 
love of Christ ?" And if need, they can also say 
with him: "Fori am now ready to be offered". 
Moses endured as seeing the invisible. That is all 
the way we can endure some things. If we get our 
eyes off Jesus, "The author and finisher of our 
faith ' ' onto the hard things of life, we will go down. 
But if we keep hid away in the cleft of the rock and 
only view things in Him, they look small and we are 
enabled to endure. We need often to pray: "Lord 
help us to endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus 
Christ". 

We will now give the testimony of Rev. M. L. 
Schooly on another phase of this experience, and 
will close with what the beloved John says in his 
first Epistle 3-x. Maturing holiness. By maturing 
holiness we mean constantly increasing conformity 
to the image of Jesus Christ. Complete holiness 
having the internal marks, first, the absence of de- 
pravity, and second, being filled with all the fullness 
of God is not maturity. It is the great advance- 
ment over initial holiness or conversion. Among 
the manifestation of maturing are : Great quietness 
of spirit and rapturous communion with God in the 
midst of adverse environment. I saw a mature 
saint once at an annual conference, in a roomful of 
people who were visiting, laughing, and having a 
good time together, sitting serenely quiet, her face 
lighted with glory, speaking pleasantly when ad- 
dressed, but evidently communing with God as 
really as though in secret prayer. It made a lasting 
impression upon my mind. Another manifestation 
of it is, as Upham puts it, "Union with God in His 
providence ' '. The peace of a mature saint is undis- 



258 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

turbed by those sudden adverse providences which 
throw the immature into consternation. Adverse 
providences are sure to come suddenly into every 
life, but there is a place of ' ' calm and undisturbed 
repose, this side of death. The greatest lessons in 
life to be learned only in yoke-fellowship with Jesus 
are meekness and lowliness. These qualities were 
exhibited by Him in their superlative degree, meek- 
ness during all His mock trials by " Opening not His 
mouth ' 1 and lowliness in the awful hour of bloody 
sweat in Gethsemane when He prayed: "Father if 
it be possible, let this cup pass from me, neverthe- 
less not as I will but as Thou wilt". Human nature 
and especially carnality, is always on the defensive. 
This is manifested particularly when one 's reputa- 
tion is at stake, and under false accusation. Meek- 
ness is the quality that keeps one from it. It is a 
mark of great strength, and shines forth conspic- 
uously in the mature saint. Lowliness is absolute, 
unalterable fidelity to the Father's will. It has it 
firmly settled that His ways are always best, and 
seeks nothing else even when, to human sight, it 
seems that His will is being thwarted and His cause 
sure to surfer. How much we will need to learn this 
lesson none but God can tell. Joseph had to learn 
it in the long years of Egyptian bondage, which all 
the time became more and more severe. It must 
have seemed to him that his fair, youthful dreams, 
prophetic though they were, were never coming true. 
To us, who read back to it, it seems so like God. All 
men must learn under adverse circumstances to 
"rule their own spirits". He who truly does this, 
emerges suddenly as Joseph did, into a service sur- 
passing his fondest dreams. Will some of us ever 
learn this ? Moses was forty years learning it in the 
"Desert College of Arabia". Others have spent 
forty years in the school of adversity and have not 
apparently begun to learn it yet. You and I are in 



Memoik and Peksonal Becollection. 259 

the "School of Christ ", and it is our unwillingness to 
learn these two lessons, in the only way they can be 
learned, by "taking His yoke upon us and learning 
of Him", while winning others into reconciliation to 
God, that makes our lives so evidently and fearfully 
immature. God is very patient. He knows how 
blind we are, so slow to learn, so quick to forget the 
lessons already taught us. He is gently and per- 
sistently, in His own way, operating in our lives. 
Had we taken patiently the apparently adverse 
providences of God, and "spelled our disappoint- 
ments with an "H" (His appointments), we should 
have been much farther on. Have not the hardest 
trials been by far the greatest blessings that have 
come into our lives ? Have not we grown more in 
grace under them, than when on the mountain top of 
blessing? And had we meekly submitted and not 
struggled to avoid "the things that seemed to harm 
us ' ', how much more mature we all might have been. 
It is true there are "many adversaries". Paul 
says: "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but 
against principalities (a compact organization of 
individuals), against the rulers of the darkness of 
this world (beings of princely kin, not common folk), 
against wicked spirits in the heavenlies (spirit be- 
ing in vast numbers having their headquarters above 
the earth"). But we can each hasten our own 
maturity by never letting go the thought that in all 
He permits to come upon us He seeks the highest 
good of each that is consistent with the highest good 
of all. Much of the time that is wasted in trying to 
bring "the other fellow" to time could be much more 
profitably spent in learning these lessons from Jesus 
Until one can rule his own spirit, he is not in proper 
shape to succeed in ruling with a rod of iron his fel- 
low man. If the time spent by so many in back 
biting their neighbors, and especially their brethren 
and sisters in the church were spent in confessing 



260 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

their own faults and getting others to help them 
pray through to victory, there would be more mani- 
festations of Christian maturity in the world than 
now. In conclusion, let us hear what the Beloved 
Disciple said on the subject. 

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath 
bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons 
of God ; therefore the world knoweth us not because 
it knew Him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of 
God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be ; 
but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be 
like Him ; for we shall see Him as He is. And every 
man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, 
even as He is pure. Whosoever commiteth sin 
transgresseth the law; for sin is a transgression of 
the law. And ye know that He was manifested to 
take away our sins ; and in Him is no sin. Whoso- 
ever abideth in Him sinneth not; whosoever sinneth 
hath not seen Him, neither known Him. 

Little children let no man deceive you. He that 
doeth righteousness is righteous even as He is right- 
eous. He that commiteth sin is of the devil for the> 
devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose, 
the Son of God was manifested that He might de- 
stroy the works of the devil. WTiosoever is born of 
God doth not commit sin ; for His seed remaineth in 
Him and he cannot sin because he is born of God. 
In this the children of God are manifest, and the 
children of the devil; whosoever doeth not right- 
eousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his 
neighbor. 

Plunged in the gulf of dark despair, 

We wretched sinners lay, 
Without one cheering beam of hope, 

Or spark of glimmering day. 

With pitying eyes the Prince of Peace, 
Beheld our helpless grief, 



Memoir and Personal Eecollection. 261 

He saw, and ! amazing love, 
He flew to our relief. 

Down from the shining seats above, 

With joyul haste he fled; 
Entered the grave in mortal flesh, 

And dwelt among the dead. 

! for His love let rocks and hills, 

Their lasting silence break, 
And all harmonious human tongues, 

The Saviour 's praises speak. 

Angels, assist our mighty joys, 

Strike all your harps of gold; 
But when you raise your highest notes, 

His love can ne'er be told. 



Copy of Letter to England's Premier, W. E. 
Gladstone, consoling him on his death bed. 

Pittsburgh, Penna., 

March 29th, 1898. 
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, 

Hawarden, England. 
My Dear Sir: 

It is with mingled feelings of sorrow and pleas- 
ure that I venture to offer you my earnest and sin- 
cere sympathy in this your severest trials and afflic- 
tions incident to mortal life. As we realize your 
career is so near its ending ; that the parting is so 
near, a feeling of sympathy tinged with sorrow 
creeps over our senses. But this momentary grief 
is chased away by the more pleasing reflection that 
through the gracious wisdom, mercy and kindness of 
Him who endowed you with so many good gifts, en- 



262 Mem oik and Personal Recollection. 

abling you to fill up those four score and eight years 
with a life so resplendent with noble ambitions ; so 
rich and transcendant in illustrious acts and deeds ; 
so beautifully illuminated with a sublime and trans- 
parent faith in Him who has conquered death, hell 
and the grave as to enable you to meet this last great 
enemy of our race, with the exultant shout : ' ' ! 
death where is thy sting?, 0! grave where is thy 
victory!" 

May the great head of the church triumphant 
who is able to keep that which thou hast committed 
into his hands vouchsafe to you the consolations of( 
His Grace and Spirit, is the earnest prayer of your* 
friend and admirer. 

I am, with great respect, 

Sincerely yours, 

J. B. Cokey. 



Letter of Hon. Thomas Mellon, December 31, 
1900, and my Reply to Same. 

Pittsburgh, Pa. 
December 31, 1900. 
Mr. J. B. Corey: 

I have no friend outside of my own family 
whom I regard so highly as you, always sincere and 
true. 

I have looked over the papers you sent me Sat- 
urday. I am old and well stricken in years, but 
have hope for a future life. I believe in God and 
believe He is greater and better than He is usually 
preached or prayed to. I should not address Him, 
as he or him, for I regard Him as the Infinite cause 
of all in this and all other Worlds, and that His be-J 
liefs and ways are infinitely greater than our 



Msmoik and Personal Recollection. 263 

thoughts and ways, that we get in that regard are 
but glimpses of feeble rays. 

Mr. Corey can you believe in Adam 's fall, or do 
you believe that the wise and learned of modern 
times are right in disregarding the story of Adam's 
fall at all, of the age of which it was written. I do 
not say it was, because I do not know it was, and 
what can we reason but from what we know, as I 
have always believed to be a principle. 

Now if Adam's fall is mythical, of course there 
is no foundation for the redemption of sinners, on 
the modern plan, this with ("that in Adam's fall we 
sinned all") is very beautiful and comforting, and 
we feel of Adam and of his eating an apple of the 
wrong tree in the orchard certainly deserves a 
stronger proof than it has yet obtained, and that so 
trifling a mistake should have such momentously de- 
grading effect, is rather jterrible. Do not mistake me 
as inclined to disbelief in religion. No ! not against 
religion, no, but, mistakes or untruths in religion if 
any are found to exist should be eradicated by all 
religious men. If anything should be pure and 
eradicated of all mistakes or errors, it is religion. 

I would not bother you with this kind of stuff. 
but know that what I get from you will be the truth 
as you understand it. In this life I have arrived at 
the outlet gate, and have no better friend than you 
to tell me where I am to go, when let out. 

Some of my wise and pious friends have sug- 
gested to me that all such doubts are answered by 
faith alone, "Well", but if the doubts are real, faith 
alone would be very inadequate support, it would be 
as if I came to a bridge in my journey through life 
that was so decayed and rotten that it must cer- 
tainly break down if the weight of myself and team 
is placed upon it, and I should be told that it was 
certainly a safe crossing, if I should believe in it and 
trust to faith alone, I could cross it in safety. 



264 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

I do not disbelieve in any alleged fact or doc- 
trine however absurd or unreasonable, unless I know 
it to be untrue, and therefore I do not say that any) 
Bible doctrine is untrue, all that I can say is, that I 
do not know whether it is true or not. I believe in 
God and that God is good, I trust in Him. That 
there is a God all nature affords full evidence, real 
evidence, satisfactory to the senses and mental 
faculties which God has supplied me with. 

Your sincere Old Friend, 
(Signed) Thomas Mellon, 

per Helbling. 



Pittsburgh, January 7th, 1901. 

Hon. Thomas Mellon, 

East End, City. 
My most highly esteemed Friend and Benefactor: 

It does seem to me that you never tire in plac- 
ing me under debts of gratitude, which I can never 
repay. Your most kind and tender letter of the 
31st December inst. reached me at my home on 
Saturday last, and I beg to assure you that it is 
simply impossible for me to formulate into sen- 
tences words that will express the gratitude, and 
pleasure the kind words have awakened in my 
breast ; and as the chain of most pleasing reflection ; 
extending over a period of forty-three years flitted 
through my memory to the day when our first ac- 
quaintance began, and I was introduced to you by 
an act of kindness, which has seemed to characterize 
your every act from that day to the present, and has 
impressed me of your being actuated by a kindness 
of heart, and nobility of mind, seldom met with in 
the daily walks of life ; and to me, personally, you 
have been my warmest hearted frieud, and benefac- 
tor, and I assure that there is nothing that will 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 265 

add to your comfort and pleasure in your declining 
years that I would not most gladly do. In a word, 
my one greatest desire is to prove myself worthy of 
so good a friend, and you will here permit me to 
add, that a shade of sadness passed through my 
mind, as I could plainly notice in the writing of your 
signature, to your letter, that your right hand gives 
strong proof of your statement that you are near- 
ing the outlet of which you speak. 

I will now attempt to answer some of the re- 
ligious doubts or questions propounded to me; and 
here permit me to say, were it not "for the strong- 
faith I have in your friendship, knowing as I do 
your superior knowledge, and research into, and up- 
on all questions, social, religious, and political, over 
those of my own, and that you will make all due al- 
lowance for my weakness, and lack of knowledge, or 
even to aid you in reaching a conclusion upon such 
a momentous question; but from your having writ- 
ten me upon the same subject in several former let- 
ters, and you having said to me that my letters af- 
forded you pleasure, I will try and present my 
views in as concise a manner as I possibly can, hop- 
ing, if I do no more, I will afford you the pleasure 
of seeing I have endeavored to reciprocate your 
many kindnesses to me. 

First : You ask me if I believe the story that 
"in Adam's fall we sinned all". I answer, I un- 
hesitatingly believe the Bible story of Adam's fall, 
including the eating of the apple off the wrong tree ; 
and if my dear friend will bear with me, I will add 
that that strongest argument of the wise and 
learned skeptics ; namely, that of ridicule, does not 
for one moment shake my faith, or weigh against 
the Bible statement of Eve tempting her husband to 
disobey God, their Creator. Now, dear Judge, you 
will permit me to say that the pivotal fact upon 
which the story of man's fall rests, was his obe- 



266 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

dience, not the manner of it. This, I think your 
logical mind will see at a glance. The origin of sin 
into the world, and by sin the passing of death upon 
all mankind, is wholly the result of Adam's disobe- 
dience ; and it is a matter of such little moment, 
whether the disobedience of Adam was manifested 
by the eating of an apple off the wrong tree, or not, 
and that the wise and learned skeptics have never 
been able to offer a stronger argument than ridi- 
cule is of itself strong proof in favor of the divine 
inspiration of the Bible. This my learned friend 
will admit; viz., that ridicule is no argument. Let 
me ask you this question? Has not the experience 
of the world demonstrated this truth, that from the 
smallest things in nature and grace we have the root 
principle or seed that produces the greatest results, 
and also that a chain is no stronger than its weakest 
link. God the Creator, having placed men upon the 
earth, had the right to test His creature, in any way 
His infinite wisdom deemed best; but my letter will 
become too long if I follow a line of reasoning such 
as I offer you here, and besides, I cannot banish the 
thought that any argument I am likely to offer, you, 
yourself, have already thought them out, and I am 
like that of a little child attempting to instruct its 
teacher. But I will ply you with some Scripture 
texts, which after all, afford the only real light upon 
the question; if these are discarded there remains 
nothing stronger to be given, and right here let me 
dispose of these wise-acres, these learned and wise 
skeptics, who are only wise in their own conceit, and 
who take issue with divine inspiration or the Holy 
Bible, viz., resting my plea upon the Bible state- 
ments, I do not overlook the fact that with those 
who doubt the fact of the Bible being the divinely 
inspired word of God, my arguments and proof will 
have no weight. This being true, it remains for us 
to fall back upon the only other possible evidence or 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 267, 

test any man under the power and dominion of sin 
can offer, or the soul-damning, sin-being that of un- 
belief — can have ; viz., that of proving by his or her 
own personal experience whether the statements of 
the Bible are true or not, and you will admit that this 
is the more reasonable, and rational appeal to our 
intelligence upon such a momentous subject; that 
is, when we come to want to find out in the economy 
of grace whether God is able and willing to save us 
from our sins, and the inherited penalty of Adam's 
transgression of God's law, we must meet the con- 
ditions; viz., that of repentance towards God, and 
faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. We can then 
by stepping out on the promises, and getting under 
the blood, demonstrate and know for ourselves that 
His words are true. This is the divinely revealed 
plan of salvation, and no other will fill the bill ; and 
right here is where to all the wise and learned skep- 
tics the plan of redemption, through Christ's death 
and atonement for sins, becomes a stumbling block. 
But, nevertheless, my dear friend, "To the law and 
the testimony, if they speak not according to this 
word it is because there is no light in them". You 
will remember that the Blessed Christ thanked His 
Father that these truths were hidden from the wise 
and prudent, and revealed unto babes. The Apostle 
Paul says "not many wise men after the flesh are 
called, not many mighty, not many noble are called, 
but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world 
to confound the wise ; and hath chosen the weak 
things of the world to confound the things which are 
mighty; and base things of the world, and things 
which are despised, hath God chosen, and things 
which are not, to bring to naught things that are ; 
that no flesh should glory in His presence. And, I, 
Brethren, when I came to you, came not with excel- 
lency of speech, or of wisdom, declaring unto you 
the testimony of God. For I determined not to 



268 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

know anything among yon, save Jesns Christ, and 
His crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and 
in fear, and in much trembling, and my speech, and 
my preaching, was not with enticing words of man's 
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of 
power ; that your faith should not stand in the wis- 
dom of men, but in the power of God. How be it we 
speak wisdom among them that are perfect, yet not 
the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this 
world, that come to nought; but we speak the wis- 
dom of God in a mystery, even the hidden mystery, 
which God ordained before the world unto our glory, 
which none of the princes of this world knew, for 
had they known it, they would not have crucified the 
Lord of Glory. But as it is written, eye hath not 
seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the 
heart of man, the things which God hath prepared 
for them that love Him. But God hath revealed 
them unto us by His Spirit. For the Spirit search- 
eth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For 
what man knoweth the things of a man, save the 
spirit of man, which is in him even so the things of 
God knoweth no man, but the spirit of God. Nov/ 
we have received not the spirit of the world, but the 
spirit which is of God, that we might know the 
things that are freely given to us of God, which 
things also we speak, not in the words which man's 
wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches 
comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But th^ 
natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of 
God; for they are foolishness unto Him, neither can 
he know them because they are spiritually discerned. 
Buf he that is spiritual judges all things, yet he 
himself is judged of no man. For who halh known 
the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him, but 
we have the mind of Christ". 

Now, my clear friend, let me ask you if you, 
yourself learned in the law, having been a judge and 



Memoir and Personal, Recollection. 269 

expounder of our civil law, who was, and always 
have been such a stickler for first principles, and 
that of testing any doctrine by giving it a fair trial 
before confirming it, does not the Apostle in these 
texts which I have quoted offer every intelligent and 
thinking person, the only possible rule that can be 
given, by which to prove the doctrine of salvation 
irom sin. You nor I do not need any proof of the 
fact of sin, that men are sinners, yea that we our- 
selves are poor undone and helpless sinners, and 
what we need is to be shown and made known to us, 
how we may escape from the wages of sin, which is 
death ; and if not saved from them, is death eternal. 
Now, my dear friend, is it possible for fallen men 
and women to have a more reasonable, and wise 
plan offered to them, to escape the penalty of sin, 
than that which God offers in his sacred word. 
Jesus says: "Come unto me all ye that are weary 
and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Come 
taste and see that the Lord is good ' \ This we see is 
the divinely ordained plan for saving sinners from 
their sins, and let me ask you, are not the testimony 
of those who have accepted the offers of mercy, and 
have proven that His promises are true, a thousand 
fold more reliable evidence than the ridicule, and 
vaporings of professedly wise, and learned skeptics, 
who only have a theory and not an experimental 
knowledge of the facts to give us? Is not the testi- 
mony of the learned scholars, like that of the Wes- 
leys, and others who have experienced the trans- 
forming power of God in their own hearts and lives, 
and who exclaim what we have felt and seen, with 
confidence we tell, and publish to the sons of men the 
signs infallible, a more reliable testimony to rest 
upon. Jesus says. "I am the light of the world, he 
that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but 
shall have the light of life". The wise-acres of His 
day, the Pharisees, accused Him of bearing record 



270 Memoik and Personal Recollection. 

of Himself, saying His record was not true. Jesus 
answered : ' ' Though I bear record of myself, yet my 
record is true, for I know whence I came and whither 
I go. Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man, and 
yet if I judge, my judgment is true ; for I am not 
alone, for I and the Father which sent me are one. 
It is also written in your law that the testimony of 
two men is true. I am one that bear witness of my- 
self, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of 
me". Then said they unto Him: " Where is thy 
Father?" Jesus answered: "Ye have neither 
known me nor my Father. If ye had known me, ye 
should have known my Father also". 

Now, Judge, I submit that if in view of the 
momentous interests we have at stake, and the ter- 
rible consequences involved in rejecting the testi- 
mony of Jesus Christ concerning the atonement He 
has provided, is it wise for men and women to 
hazard their eternal interest on the mere conjectures 
of professedly wise, and learned skeptics, when we 
ourselves can demonstrate the truth, by meeting the 
conditions laid down by the all wise Creator and 
Saviour, in His revealed and written Word? You 
speak of faith in Christ 's atonement under the figure 
of an "old bridge so decayed and rotten that it must 
certainly break down if the weight of myself and 
teams are placed upon it, and I should be told that it 
was certainly a safe crossing if I should believe in it;, 
and trust to faith alone I should cross it in safety". 
Now, dear Judge, allow me to say, your pen por- 
traiture, or figure of speech, while a good pen pic- 
ture of our modern, worldly conformed, Chris- 
tianity; that type of religious professors that find 
their chief delight in worldly folly, such as theatre- 
going, card playing, dancing, base and foot ball 
crazes, and such like travesties upon the Christ life, 
which I heard you, more than thirty years ago, (as 
we sat eating our dinner at George Reineman's res- 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 271 

taurant), style as being a burlesque on the self- 
denial and self -negation of Christ, and still, I think 
you will admit it in no wise represents the Christian 
faith, or applies to the faith once delivered to the 
Saints. No, No, dear Judge, there are no rotten 
timbers, or unsound wood in the faith that works by 
love, and purifies the heart. I freely admit that it 
is not strange that you, and intelligent man like you, 
turn away in disgust from such popular delusions, 
as characterizes the mass of professing christians 
today. But that intelligent men like yourself should 
neglect the faith once delivered to the Saints be- 
cause of such manifest inconsistencies on the part of 
dead formal Christless professions, exemplified by 
the twice Dead, and plucked up by the roots, of our 
back-slidden Protestant professors and preachers, is 
surprising. But Judge you should remember that 
men never counterfeit a bogus coin. There must be 
a genuine article on which to base the hope of the 
counterfeit currency. But ' ' Cui, bono ' \ I must not 
weary you with repetition of scriptural or unscript- 
ural phrases. I am certain I can add nothing to 
your stock of knowledge on this or any other ques- 
tion. Christ is the great Teacher. He spake as 
never man spake. He laid down as the basis, and as 
the foundation principle of the Christian hope, the 
necessity of the new birth. He said to Nioodemus : 
" Marvel not, I said ye must be born again". No 
reasoning, no argument, no philosophy, can possibly 
supplement the new birth, or give any man or 
woman a knowledge of, or an experience in, by which 
they can comprehend the Christ life until Christ has 
been formed within their hearts, the hope of eternal 
glory, by a saving faith obtained, and granted on 
condition of repentance toward God, and faith to- 
ward our Lord Jesus Christ, and also having the 
witness of the Holy Spirit with their spirits, that 



272 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

they are born of God; then, and not until then, can 
they with Charles Wesley sing : 

My God is reconciled, 

His pardoning voice I hear; 

He owns me for his child, 
I can no longer fear ; 

With confidence I now draw nigh, 

And Father, abba, Father cry. 

Then and not till then can we know of the doc- 
trine whether it be true or no. This I declare unto 
you, not only on the authority of the written Word, 
but from an experimental knowledge extending over 
the period of our personal acquaintance of forty- 
three years. 

On the first Saturday evening of February, 
1858, a few weeks after I saw you in your office on 
Wylie avenue, I, myself, at an old time Methodist 
altar, in a little brick meeting house in Port Perry, 
under a deep conviction of my sins, and of my need 
of the merits of the atonement of Jesus Christ, I 
cried unto the Lord and he heard my cry, and he 
took me out of the horrible pit and out of the miry 
clay of unbelief, sin and misery. The spirit answering 
to the blood, told me that I was born of God, and 
from that day until the present, dear Judge, I never 
have had any doubts about the truth of the inspired 
Word of God ; and while I have not been as stead- 
fast in the faith, and have not witnessed as good a 
confession as I should have done, still I trace to the 
divine impartation of His great love wherewith He 
loves me, and a measure of the Holy Spirit given to 
me, what little I have accomplished in life. I attri- 
bute among the many great kindnesses I have re- 
ceived from you, and your sons, along with that of 
others, as among the divine blessings I have re- 
ceived at the hands of my Heavenly Father. I 
thank Him for enabling me to order my walk and 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 273 

conversation, so as to retain the confidence for these 
many years of such a noble friend as you have been 
to me, and if in this long, and possibly the last letter 
I shall write you, I shall give expression to a word 
or thought that shall in the least contribute in aid- 
ing you in laying hold upon the hope set before us in 
the Gospel, so that you shall have no need to cross 
over that old, rickety, rotten bridge in order to find 
the haven of rest, but shall even now by faith ' ' enter 
into the rest prepared for the people of God". (We 
who do believe have entered into rest) and have a 
Heaven to go to Heaven in ; then I shall feel I have 
attained my one great desire of having done my life- 
long friend the greatest possible return for his 
many acts of kindness to me. 

Let me give you the experience of an old Meth- 
odist minister, which you will remember as the man 
for which your father was sessioned, in the old 
Covenanter Church, for allowing him to preach in 
an unfinished tenement house your father was build- 
ing. He was familiarly known and called " Uncle 
Jimmy Sansom" by us Methodists. The Rev. Dr. 
Hunter, the Methodist poet, puts Sansom 's story of 
his conversion into verse. Dr. Hunter said that 
under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Sansom 's 
relating of his conversion at a camp meeting re- 
quired but little changing of the words to set it up 
in verse : 

There is a spot to me more dear, 

Than native vale or mountain ; 
A spot for which affection's tear, 

Spring's grateful from it's fountain; 
'Tis not where kindred ties abound, 

Although that were almost Heaven; 
But where I first my Saviour found, 

And felt my sins forgiven. 



274 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

Hard was my toil to reach the shore, 

Long tossed upon the ocean ; 
Above me was the thunder's roar, 

Beneath the waves' commotion. 
Darkly the pall of night was thrown 

Around me faint with terror; 
In that dark hour how did my groan 

Ascend for years of error ! 

Sinking and panting as if for breath, 

I knew not help was near me ; 
And cried, Oh Lord save me from death ; 

Immortal Jesus hear me. 
Then quick as thought I felt Him mine ; 

My Saviour stood before me, 
I saw His brightness around me shine, 

And shouted, Glory, Glory. 

Oh, Sacred Hour, Oh, Hallowed spot, 

Where love divine first found me ; 
Wherever falls my distant lot, 

My heart will linger around thee ; 
And when from earth I rise to soar, 

Up to my home in Heaven, 
Down will I cast my eyes once more ; 

To where I was first forgiven. 

And now may Heaven's richest blessings con- 
tinue to rest upon my aged friend, and his dear 
companion while your stay is prolonged upon the 
earth, and Heaven's eternal bliss await your en- 
trance upon the great eternity beyond the shores of 
time, the outlet upon which you are now standing. 
I am sincerely and always your friend. 

(Signed) J. B. Corey. 



Memoik and Personal Recollection. 275 

Rear Admiral Forsyth of U. S. Navy's Letter. 

48 West Lincoln St., 
Shamokin, Penna., 
June 14th, 1907. 
My dear sir: 

My wife and I have been off on a little trip and 
have just returned to find the splendid likeness of 
you, that you have so kindly sent me. All think it 
an excellent picture of you. I add it with great 
pleasure to my collection of friends and thank you 
for sending it. 

Yours very truly, 

Jas. M. Forsyth, 

U. S. Navy. 
J. B. Corey, Esq., 
Pittsburgh, Pa. 



Shamokin, Pa., 
May 13th, 1907. 
Dear Mr. Corey : 

Your letter received. My wife has been having 
the regular ' ' spring house cleaning' y and found some 
photographs of herself, which were taken just a 
year after I married her and she says I can send 
one with her compliments to Mrs. Corey. It was a 
perfect likeness of her when taken and is still very 
good. If we ever come to Pittsburgh I shall let you 
know and would be glad to see you should you visit 
this town. 

Yours truly, 

Jas. M. Forsyth, 

U. S. Navy. 



J. B. Corey, Esq., 
Pittsburgh, Pa. 



276 Memoir and Personal Becollection. 

48 West Lincoln St., 

Shamokin, Pa., 
July 8th, 1907. 
My dear Mr. Corey: 

I am much obliged for the picture of your good 
wife. My mother-in-law, Mrs. Helfenstein, has 
taken it into her special care. 

I was also pleased to get the papers. ' ' High 
Tide" gives a good idea of how things went in the 
days gone by. I myself, was stationed at the Navy 
Yard, Washington, in Sept., Oct. and November, 
1861 ; under instruction, and saw President Lincoln 
quite often, you see we have been near to each other 
and did not know it. I was much interested in your 
anecdotes of our great President, who is to me the 
greatest American that ever lived. 

With kind regard, I am, 

Yours truly. 

Jas. M. Forsyth, 
Eear Admiral, 
IT. S. Navy. 
J. B. Corey, Esq., 
Pittsburgh, Pa, 



48 West Lincoln Street, 

Shamokin, Penna. 
May 8th, 1907. 
My dear Mr. Corey : 

Your letter to me, after wandering around a 
bit; fell into hands of some naval officer at the New 
York Navy Yard, who knew my home address and 
sent it to me here. I don 't know how you got the 
idea I was a New Yorker. Ever since I landed in 
Philadelphia, as a boy, in 1853 ; that city has been 
my home, as far as a sailor can have a home, and 
since my second marriage, in 1903, I have made my 




REAR ADMIRAL FORSYTH. 

U. S. Navy. 

1906. 

(See page 275.) 



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WIFE OF ADMIRAL FORSYTH. 

U. S. Navy. 

1906. 

(See page 275.) 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 277, 

home in this town with my wife 's people. I remem- 
ber you very well and our talks about the coal busi- 
ness at New Orleans. You are mistaken about my 
commanding one of the ships of Commodore Farra- 
gut's fleet when he captured New Orleans, April 24, 
26, 1862. I was only a youngster 20 years of age, 
and serving as a junior volunteer officer on board 
the Gunboat Wissahickon (No. 4) one of Farragut's 
fleets, Commander Albert N. Smith. My rank was 
that of Acting Master's Mate. I am glad that we got 
there just in time to save that coal for you and so en- 
able you to weather financial storm. I remember 
your Sunday service on board the "Comus" and my 
wife and mother-in-law often refer to it. I send you 
a photo of myself. If you notice a change, it is be- 
cause I have shaved off my " goatee' ' and may look 
strange in uniform. My wife regrets that she has 
not one to send to Mrs. Corey. With kind regards 
and wishing you both many more years, I am, 

Yours truly, 
Jas. M. Forsyth, 
Rear Admiral, 

U. S. Navy. 
J. B. Corey, Esq., 
Pittsburgh, Pa. 



King George V. on Titanic Disaster. 

Buckingham Palace. 

The Private Secretary has received The King's 
commands to thank Mr. J. B. Corey for the kind ex- 
pressions conveyed in his communication of the 15th 
ulto. 

March 2nd, 1911. 



278 Memoib and Personal Recollection. 

STATE OF MICHIGAN 

Executive Chamber 
Lansing 

Big Bapids, Michigan, Jan. 11, 1914. 

My dear sir : 

I have your letter of January 5th. In the Cop- 
per Country the bone of contention is the recogni- 
tion of the Western Federation of Miners. Both 
sides are equally stubborn in regard to the one 
bone. I have read with care your co-operative 
agreement. I shall read it several times more. I 
wish to say that I am personally grateful to you for 
sending me this agreement. Just at this time I am 
pausing for certain events to take place that are in- 
evitable. Every day I am doing some wiring in 
the last hope that the great industrial dispute in the 
Copper Country may end speedily. 

Gratefully yours, 

WOODBRIDGE N. FERRIS, 

Governor. 
J. B. Corey, 

Braddock, Pa. 
WNF-NB 

Wm. H. White & McCullough Lumber Co. 
General Office, Fargo, N. D. 

Fargo, N. D., July 18th, 1912. 
Dear Bro. Corey: 

I was very glad to hear from you, and in your 
own hand writing. Some time I will try to see you. 
I don't know when, but you did me a great deal of 
good when we were together. Please remember me 
kindly to your daughter. Some time I hope to meet 
her again. 

Sincerely yours, 

Wm. H. White. 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 279 

Letter of Rev. Rabbi Levy and my reply to same. 

Pittsburgh,' Pa., Dec. 24, 1902. 
Mr. J. B. Corey, 
Pittsburgh, Pa. 

My dear sir: 

In reply to your communication which awaited 
me on my return from the East, I beg to state that I 
regret my inability to be present at Wesley Chapel 
on Sunday or Wednesday evening of this week. 

I feel very sorry indeed that you should be dis- 
turbed by my imputation of the insincerity of con- 
verted Jews, but if you knew this class of people as 
well as I do, you would not be at all surprised at the 
position I have taken. I believe that I am render- 
ing every sincere Christian a distinct service when 
I wrote as I did through my paper. I do not think 
I am ungenerous, nor do I impugn the motives of 
men who are honest and whose lives give evidence 
of their honesty. I am amazed that any thinking 
Christian should be blinded by the palpable self- 
seeking of those "who leave Judaism for Chris- 
tianity, though in this case, as in others, none are so 
blind as those who will not see. My contention is 
fair and should be convincing to reasonable people ; 
Preach "Christ and him crucified " to the Jews with- 
out bribe, without favors, without social gain and 
see how many converts to Christianity you will get ! 

Motives are for God to judge, but the presump- 
tion of insincerity will always be held against those 
who leave the struggling minority to join the ranks 
of the majority. I am very familiar with the 
methods of the missionaries. I know the work they 
have conducted for years in London, in Palestine 
Place ; I know how they have met the refugees from 
Continental Europe, as they land in free countries; 
I know the tempting baits offered to innocent chil- 



280 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

dren and I know the awards made to those who 
prosecute this work with ardor. The Christians 
who contribute for missionary efforts among the 
Jews are guilty of insulting the intelligence and the 
religious feelings of many of those who are devout 
followers of " Moses and the Prophets", as Jesus 
himself was, as well as being guilty of sustaining, 
generally speaking, people, who by personal expe- 
rience with large numbers of them, I have discov- 
ered to be of the tribe of Goldberg in England and 
Warszawiak in New York. I cite here two isolated 
cases, but my experience has been considerable with 
this class of people. I am not building a theory on 
an exception. I have met in my life a number of 
so-called "converts" to Christianity. I have at- 
tended some of them, at their request, on their 
death-bed, and I know whereof I speak when I say I 
can cite cases in which the greatest perfidy and 
scurrility have been practiced by them. 

I am no more sweeping in my denunciation of 
this class of people than was the gentle Nazarene in 
his indignant outcry recorded in Matthew xxiii. of 
which a very spiritual Christian says ' ' that terrible 
invective has never been equaled in severity in any 
known human speech". You certainly justify Jesus 
in his wholesale and indiscriminating denunciation; 
and while I make no pretence, in any respect, to the 
character of the Nazarene, and while I feel for this 
Jew of Nazareth great reverence, (as I have always 
stated both privately and publicly) I think I have 
not been harsher in my judgment of those who, I 
feel, should be condemned, than was he of those 
against whom he launched his condemnation. 

In the economy of religion and in God's wonder- 
ful providence, it seems wisely ordained that there 
should be division of opinion. I cheerfully admit 
the necessity of varying views and I feel that great 
good must come from different methods of reason- 



Memoir and Personal Kecollection. 231 

ing honestly pursued. To my mind nothing could 
be better than that each sect should first perfect the 
members attached to its own branch of thought. It 
were well first to have all Presbyterians, Methodists, 
Baptists, etc., etc., upright, honest, God-fearing, 
spiritually-minded men and women, and that the 
members of these various denominations should get 
their members to lead the "Christ "-life. When 
they have succeeded in that it will be time enough 
for them to look to the ways of others. You have 
no doubt heard of "the mote and the beam". There 
are hosts of Non-Jewish people in this country, 
without God, without religion, without knowledge of 
the Bible, upon whom it might be well to exert some 
uplifting influence ; and while I make no claim that 
the Jews are perfect, I feel that they can be left to 
be cared for by their own as I think the various sects 
ought to look after their own. To me as a free born 
Englishman and a free citizen of America, it seems 
the height of unwarranted impertinence for people 
to interfere in the religious beliefs of their neigh- 
bors. I care not how noble be the motive, such ac- 
tion, to my mind, savors of unpardonable 
Pharisaism. If souls have to be saved, it were well 
to begin at home first, and when Christians are true 
Christians, and when they can point to the conver- 
sion of the Christian world to Christianity, it will be 
time enough for them to speak of going outside of 
Christian ranks. The ends do not sanctify the 
means, according to my ethical standard, but if you 
must convert someone, begin by converting nominal 
Christians ; the Jews, having a religion of their own 
which was and is satisfying to them, can be left 
alone. 

I cannot tell you how deeply I regret the need 
of having to write in this tone, especially as I have 
met so many people who, I believe, are genuinely 
Christian, and who have expressed to me their opin- 



282 Memoir and Personal Kecollection. 

ion that the whole conversion movement is a farce 
and most reprehensible in their sight. I have met 
so many sweet and pure people, members of the 
Christian Church, that I regret very much to find 
those whose characteristics should be sweet humil- 
ity, lowliness and righteousness, presuming to under- 
take a work, which no one would condemn more bit- 
terly than the Nazarene himself. 

The remarks you make about myself I pass over 
in that spirit of brotherly forgiveness which I have 
been taught as a Jew to practice. From my child- 
hood I have offered daily the prayer at the close of 
"The Eighteen Benedictions ' ', in which I have 
asked for divine help to answer the slanderer by 
forgiving him, and the maligner by asking for him 
the pardon of God. This is why I made no refer- 
ence to the article which you published in the Brad- 
dock paper after my address in Carnegie Hall. I 
was informed that you had purchased the space in 
the paper to publish the article and that you had 
prompted a converted Jew to challenge me on the 
evening that I spoke. Of course I cannot vouch for 
the truth of this, but such was my information from 
private sources. You may remember that I did not 
even raise my voice in protest against what I felt 
was an act on the part of one, calling himself a 
Christian, who appeared to me to resort to methods 
which are not exactly what I believe the Nazarene 
would have followed. For your private informa- 
tion, I would tell you now, and now only because 
this is a personal communication, that I am not at 
all hurt by the fact that you disapprove of the size 
of my salary. My people here pay me what they 
do for reasons best known to themselves. I have 
never asked for a position in my life. Every pulpit 
I have occupied has been filled by myself in response 
to an invitation, and I have resolved never, under 
any circumstances, to " apply' ' for a pulpit. In the 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 283 

future, as in the past, wherever I shall teach, I shall 
do so in response to the call of my people and not 
because I seek any other place than the sphere in 
which I find myself. I graduated from my college 
an orthodox Jew, son of an orthodox minister of the 
Jewish faith, and for some years I was an orthodox 
Rabbi in England. I outgrew, as I felt, the restric- 
tions imposed by orthodoxy and found myself out 
of sympathy with the forms of my father's faith. 
At that time I was earning the equivalent of more 
than $4,000 a year. I left England and came to 
America in response to a call from a congregation in 
Sacramento, California. I gave up my home, my 
country, my friends, my family and although mar- 
ried but eight months, my young wife and I came to 
this country to teach what I felt was a better view 
of my faith, sympathizing as I did with the Prophets 
of Israel rather than with the formalists. You can 
never know, and even if you are possessed of a lively 
imagination, you can little understand, the sacri- 
fices I brought for my conviction's sake, besides re- 
signing a most successful rabbinate and what was 
conceded to be by all who knew me, the certainty of 
a brilliant future in England, and accepting a posi- 
tion for $1,800 a year. This is many years ago and 
I am where I am in response to my people's wishes, 
not as the result of my self-seeking. I never raised 
a finger, and never by hint or allusion, sought to 
leave any position I occupied. I have always been 
with the minority of the minority and expect to so 
remain till the end. I have told you this not be- 
cause I am especially interested in standing well 
with you, nor because I care to defend myself, but 
simply because having brought the charge of self- 
seeking against others, you bring it against me. 
You are at liberty to make your own deductions, and 
I claim for myself an equal degree of liberty to 
make mine. I stand exactly in the position to-day 



284 Memoik and Peksonal Recollection. 

where I did when I wrote the article to which you 
take exception, not varying one whit in my belief 
that I am doing society a service in exposing those 
whom I believe are totally unworthy of serious con- 
sideration after the large experience I have had 
with the class of people against whom I now, as in 
the past, lodge my protest. You may think me 
illiberal and I am sorry for it. As soon as the gos- 
pel of the Nazarene is preached, as soon as all 
favors, bribes, rewards are withdrawn from the or- 
ganized system of conversion methods, as soon as I 
find Christianity has converted the morally sub- 
merged portion of Christian society, to whom it of 
right should apply, you will find that I shall not 
speak as I have spoken. The burden of my whole 
plea and plaint is : Take care of those who come 
legitimately within the scope of Christian thought 
and save them first. This done we may be able to 
say: "Come now and let us reason together, saith 
the Lord". 

Yours truly, 

J. Leonakd Levy. 

Rev. Rabbi Levy, 
Dear sir: 

Your seven-page letter was duly received. My 
motive in addressing you the short note which you 
answered at such great length was only to remind 
you that men fully your equal mentally and morally 
who had lived in our community for years were en- 
titled to the same respectful consideration that your 
short tenure in our midst entitled you to. When I 
read your cruel, unjust public attack upon men 
whose reputation and character as Hebrew converts 
rested upon as solid foundation as your own, I felt 
led to write you my feeble protest against your 
illiberal and uncalled for attack upon the motives 
and principles of men and women who had as good 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 285 

a right to change their religious opinions and follow 
their religious convictions, as you had to change 
your opinions and follow your convictions. 

Now, Dr. Levy, surely you cannot reconcile your 
cruel abuse of Jewish converts with your statement 
that it was wise in divine providence that there 
should be a diversity of opinion on religious ques- 
tons and dogmas, for, when a Gentile or Jewish con- 
vert differs with you as to his or her religious con- 
victions, you feel called to sit in judgment upon 
them, anathematizing them as sordid hypocrites, etc. 
Might I not properly exclaim : ' i On what meat doth 
this Hebrew Caesar feed!" or "who made thee a 
judge of other man's motives!" But I am opposed 
to three men piling on one, even if their cause is 
just, and as Dr. Chalmers, a Gentile, and Eev. A. E. 
Kuldell a Jewish convert, have both replied to your 
editorial in a much more able and masterly manner 
than I am capable of doing, I will not attempt to an- 
swer some of your illogical attacks upon Christian 
doctrine and practice, but content myself by re- 
pudiating some of your personal insinuations and 
charges of sordid motives, such as bribing Hebrew 
converts, etc. 

As my own knowledge of missionary efforts to 
the Jews is limited to our Hebrew Mission in Pitts- 
burgh, I shall endeavor to show that your charges 
against the Pittsburgh Jewish converts or their 
Christian friends has no foundation in truth, and if 
I do it will go a long way towards proving that your 
charges against other Hebrew converts and missions 
are also groundless. 

My knowledge and interest in the conversion of 
the Jews began with my going down to Dixmont 
hospital to see Maurice Ruben, which resulted in my 
instigating proceedings to have him liberated. The 
incidents which followed are all so well known that I 
will not reiterate them, but will call your attention 



286 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

to a few facts which clearly refute your charges of 
bribery, and that the Jewish converts accept Christ 
for the money there is in it. When Mr. Ruben was 
brought before His Honor, Judge White, he pro- 
nounced it the greatest outrage upon an innocent 
man that had come before him in his thirty years 
experience, and told the doctors who lent themselves 
to the crime that they all ought to be sent to the 
penitentiary. Forgetting the admonition of your 
Jew and my Saviour, to "do good to them that de- 
spitefully use you", I thought I saw a good oppor- 
tunity to even up and teach the rich Jew, Charles 
Ruben a lesson. I set myself to have Maurice Ruben 
bring suit against his brother and the doctors for a 
big bill of damages, to which he at first gave his con- 
sent, and attorney Wm. Yost prepared the papers 
necessary, when to my utter disappointment and the 
disgust of Mr. Yost, Maurice Ruben came to my of- 
fice and said : " I cannot consent to go ahead with the 
suit against Charles. What he did, he did through 
love for me as his brother, and I would have had him 
sent to Dixmont had be been converted while I was 
in my Jewish blindness". Now, I think, you must 
admit that if Maurice Ruben's motive was to make 
money, he threw away as good a chance as he is ever 
likely to have. I am certain (and I think Mr. Yost 
felt sure that he had as good a prospect for a fat fee 
as lawyers usually have), if Maurice had not inter- 
fered, Charles Ruben may have retired from busi- 
ness as he has done, but the credit side of the ledger 
would not have shown as big a balance. 

I admit, my dear sir, that I was little less dis- 
appointed when Brother Ruben refused to accept 
either of his brother's offers to give up his call to 
preach and go back to the store at a salary of $2,500 
per year, or accept an advance of $5,000 to start 
himself in business, both of which offers were de- 
clined in my presence in my office, as also was his 



Memoir and Personal Eecollection. 287 

declination three years later to become united with, 
his family on condition that he gave np his call to 
preach and returned to business. But I assure you 
we are all glad today that he was able to stand the 
test, and I do not believe his noble little Christian 
wife would for one moment consider the three large 
Jewish stores of our city if offered them on condition 
that she and her husband would give up their faith 
in Christ. His brother himself has told me that he 
is proud of Maurice, and is glad that he is successful 
in his labors. Both Mr. Yost and myself are glad 
he had more of the Christ spirit than we had, and I 
am ashamed of how very little Christian sympathy 
and love I showed him the first three years of the 
Christ-life, when brother and sister, wife and chil- 
dren, all had forsaken him ; and yet I think he will 
tell you that I showed him more aid and kindness 
than all the sweet-scented Christians (so-called) in 
this locality. 

Now, Dr. Levy, here is one instance, whether 
you will admit it or not, where a Jewish convert did 
accept the cardinal doctrines of Christianity. His 
brother thought him insane, hireling doctors pro- 
nounced him insane, but an able and experienced 
Jurist declared him to be a saner man than his per- 
secutors. 

Again, in reply to your statement that you are 
not hurt at my disapproval of the size of your 
salary, allow me to say that I do not disapprove of 
the size of your salary at all. In ringing the changes 
on your $8,500 salary, my object was to force home 
on your mind the illogical absurdity of your cruel 
accusation against Hebrew converts whom you 
charged with giving up the faith of their fathers for 
the money that was in it, when you yourself say you 
have out-grown orthodox Judaism and have turned 
away from the traditions of the elders, and in so do- 
ing you have improved both your social and financial 



288 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

interest over one hundred per cent (from a salary of 
$4,000 to $8,500 per year). In calling attention to 
your charges of sordid motives against apostate 
Jews, I only intended to remind you that an apos- 
tate rabbi with such great advancement of his finan- 
cial interest, is liable to be suspected of becoming a 
reform Jew for the money there is in it. No, no, 
Dr. Levy, I am not ignorant of what the Bible and 
all human experience proves to be true, that the 
preaching of an emasculated theology, the holding 
of truth in unrighteousness, always commands a 
higher salary and pays better socially than an ad- 
herence to truth. All the prophets and apostles 
unite in declaring that both Jews and Gentiles turn 
away their ears from the truth to fables, and heap to 
themselves teachers, having itching ears. 

In reference to the 23rd chapter of Matthew, 
which gives the Nazarene's strong denunciation of 
Phariseeism — if you will read that chapter carefully 
you will see that it was not to the poor fisherman, 
his disciples and missionaries to Jew and Gentile, 
that the Nazarene directed His denunciations, but to 
those who sat in Moses' seat — the rabbis. He told 
them to call no man "rabbi", comparing them to 
whited sepulchres. You will have to read that 
chapter more carefully. You will find nothing in it 
justifying your intolerant spirit. 

Let me call your attention to one or two things 
you overlook in your complaint against efforts to 
convert the Jews. First, your Nazarene claimed 
that He came unto His own, and His own received 
Him not; second, in commissioning His disciples to 
preach His gospel, He told them to begin at Jeru- 
salem. Paul, who sat at the feet of Gamaliel and 
profited in the Jews' religion above many of his 
equals, declared that his gospel was "to the Jew 
first". This you will see, answers your objections 
to missionary efforts among the Jews, especially 



Memoir and Personal Becollection. 289 

with reference to all persons who acknowledge their 
allegiance to Christ. Then, in regard to your com- 
plaint of unwise acts and un-Christlike spirit of 
missionaries, I would say that if these complaint's 
are true, they only hold against the unfaithful mis- 
sionary or those who have a zeal not according to 
knowledge. You know men never counterfeit a 
worthless bank-note or bogus coin. That there are 
so many counterfeit or anti-semitic Christians is the 
strongest proof of true Christianity. You can see 
the effect of this anti-christian spirit in the many 
Roumanian Jews driven from home and seeking 
shelter in this country. My office of late has been 
like an employment agency, and not only so, but I 
am called to relieve the pressing needs of some of 
these poor wanderers. Now, Dr. Levy, for fear of 
being suspicioned of taking advantage of their 
necessities to induce them to accept Christ, I am 
willing to enter into an arrangement of this kind 
with you and your wealthy Eeform Jews. I will 
send these Jews seeking employment and aid to you 
and your friends and let you assist them, and we 
will take our chances of converting them after they 
learn our American language and customs. You 
see I am willing that you should have my share of 
the reward your Nazarene Jew promises to all who 
feed, clothe and visit the distressed and needy. 

One more thought and I am done. I think you 
overlook the fact that cause and effect always fol- 
low. Intolerance is a very prominent trait in human 
nature both among Jews and Gentiles. This in- 
tolerant spirit among Jews manifested towards 
Christ in causing him to be crucified, perhaps more 
than all else, has brought down upon the defenceless 
head of the Jews all the intolerant bigotry they have 
had to endure for the past 1,900 years. The com- 
mon idea among Gentiles is that the only way to deal 
with a Jew is to allow him to go so far and no far- 



290 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

ther. Your letter to me, and your article in the 
Pittsburgh Post manifests this trait to such a degree 
that nothing but the Christ-spirit saves you from 
the natural effect. 

I close with this one suggestion. If Reform 
Judaism has nothing better to offer a man of your 
ability than the vaporings of German rationalism 
and infidelity, or French agnosticism, then your 
$8,500 salary is a poor compensation for the sacri- 
fice you are making upon the altar of Baal. I hope 
this letter controversy may lead you to see the dark 
veil of Jewish unbelief lying upon your heart, and 
like St. Paul and Brother Ruben, you may hear a 
voice saying : ' i It is I, Jesus of Nazareth ; why per- 
secutest thou me!" Dr. Levy, is it not hard for you 
to kick against the pricks? Surely conscience must 
prick you when pretending to reverence and eulogize 
the greatest imposter that ever trod the earth. If 
Jesus is not the Christ of God, second person in the 
Trinity, the promised Messiah to the Jews, I am 
astonished that your wealthy congregation do not 
call you down. The hypocrisy is so transparent to 
every intelligent man and woman; and all you gain 
in the way of flattery from hollow-hearted, back- 
slidden preachers will never compensate you for the 
wounds you are giving your own conscience. 

Believe me, my dear sir, 

Very sincerely yours, 

J. B. Corey. 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 291 

THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION 
OF JESUS CHRIST. 

Easter Sermons, prepared by J. B. Corey from Ex- 
tracts of Sermons of John and Charles Wesley 
and Dr. Adam Clark. 



Dr. Adam Clark's Comments on 15th Chapter 
1st Corinthians. 

Dr. Adam Clark, in his commentary, says : 

It appears from this chapter that there were 
some false apostles at Corinth who denied the Resur- 
rection. In consequence of which St. Paul discusses 
the questions it contains as follows : 

First — Whether there be a resurrection of the 
dead? (Verses 1-35.) 

Second — What will be the nature of the resur- 
rection bodies? (Verses 35-51.) 

Third — What will become of those found alive 
when the last trumpet shall sound? Verses 51-57.) 

First — He proves the resurrection from verses 
lto4. 

Second — From eye-witnesses, from verses 5 
to 12. In the second place he proves the resurrection 
by the absurdity of the contrary doctrine. 

First — If the dead rise not, Christ is not risen. 
(Verse 13.) 

Second — The apostles must be false witnesses 
who attest this resurrection. (Verse 15.) 

Third — The faith of the Corinthians must be 
vain who believe it (Verses 16-17.) 

Fourth — All the believers who have died in the 
faith of Christ perished if Christ be not risen. 
(Verses 18.) 

Fifth — Believers in Christ are in a more miser- 
able state than others if there be no resurrection. 
(Verse 19). 



292 Memoik and Personal Becollection. 

Sixth — Those who are baptized in the faith that 
Christ died for them and arose again are deceived. 
(Verse 29.) 

Seventh — The Apostles, and Christians in 
general, who suffer persecution on the ground that, 
after suffering awhile here, they shall have a glor- 
ious resurrection, are acting a foolish and unprofit- 
able part. (Verse 32.) 

For He Shall Save His People from Their Sins. 

The Apostle in Verse One says: "The Gospel 
which I preach unto you is contained in Christ dying 
for our sins, being buried and rising the third day 
for our justification. ' ' 

Second — By which also ye are saved ; that is, ye 
are now in a saveable state; and are saved from* 
Gentileism and from your former sins ; if you keep 
this in memory, your future salvation, or being 
finally brought to glory, will now depend on your 
faithfulness to God and the grace which ye have re- 
ceived. 

Verse Third — For I delivered unto you, first of 
all, that which I also received, as the chief things 
are matters of greatest importance, and fundamental 
truths. That which I received by revelation from 
God himself and not from man. That Christ died 
for our sins. The death of Jesus Christ as a vicar- 
ious sacrifice for sin is among the things that arcj 
of chief importance, and is the essential Gospel 
scheme of salvation according to the Scriptures. The 
sinner who was an heir to all God's curses has, 
through the sacrifice of Jesus, a claim on the mercy 
of the Most High and a right to be saved; even Jus- 
tice itself gives salvation to the vilest who take 
refuge in this atonement ; for Justice has nothing to 
grant nor heaven to give which the blood of the Son 
of God has not merited. It is not said anywhere in 
the Scriptures, in express terms, that Christ should 




DR. ADAM CLARK. 
(See page 291.) 




WESLEY'S MEMORIAL IN 
WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 293 

rise on the third day; but it is fully implied in the 
foreshadowing of that event, as in the case of Jonah, 
wh,o came out of the belly of the fish on the third 
day; but particularly in the case of Isaac, for as his 
being brought to Mt. Moriah, bound and laid on the 
wood in order to be sacrificed, pointed to the death 
of Christ, so his being brought alive on the third 
day from the Mount was a figure of His resurrec- 
tion, which two Gospels, having been written at the 
time Paul wrote this Epistle, properly called Sacred 
Scriptures. And that he was seen of Cephas, then 
of the twelve ; after that He was seen of five hundred 
brethren at once; five hundred persons saw him at 
one time. 

"What a remarkable testimony/ ' says Dr. 
Clarke, "this is to the truth of our Lord's resur- 
rection." After that He was seen of James. Then 
of all the Apostles. And, last of all, was seen of me 
also, as one born out of due time. For I am the least 
of the Apostles that am not meet to be called an 
Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God; 
but, by the Grace of God, I am what I am ; God by 
His mere grace and good will has called me to be an 
Apostle; nor have I been unfaithful to the Divine 
call. I have labored more abundantly than they all. 
The Apostle not only clearly establishes the doctrine 
of the resurrection, but also gives the clearest proofs 
of his own call to the Apostleship or ministry of the 
Gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore, whether it was I 
or they, so we preach and so ye believe; all the 
Apostles of Christ agree in the same doctrines and 
preach the same thing; and as we preached so ye 
believed, having received from us the Apostolic faith 
that Jesus died for our sins, and rose again from the 
dead for our justification; and that His resurrection 
is pledge and proof of our resurrection ; and whoever 
teaches contrary to this does not preach the true 
Apostolic doctrine. 



294 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

Dr. Adam Clarke says: "The absolute necessity 
of a divine revelation is sufficiently established. If 
God be the whole foundation of light and truth, all 
knowledge must be derived from Him. The spirit of 
man may know the things of man, but the spirit of 
God He alone knows, and teaches the things of God. 
How unspeakably we are indebted to God for giving 
us a revelation of His will and His works. Who then 
are they who cry out the Bible is a fable 1 The use 
of revelation and a pious study of it was the grand 
means of producing the greatest kings, the most en- 
lightened statesmen, the most accomplished poets, 
and the most holy and useful men and women that 
ever adorned the world. ' ' 

The Poet Most Beautifully Expressed 
This Hope. 

He says : 

"The Christian's hope is a glorious hope, 

A hope through Jesus given, 
A hope, when days and years are past, 
We all shall meet in heaven. ' ' 

The Primitive Apostles. 

Dr. Clarke further says that Paul was the last 
of the primitive Apostles. The primitive Apostles 
were those who had seen Christ, and got their call to 
the Apostate immediately from Jesus. Paul says: 
"Now if it be preached that He arose'from the dead, 
how say some among you that there is no resur- 
rection of the dead?" That there were some false 
prophets or teachers among them who were endeav- 
oring to incorporate Mosaic rites and ceremonies 
with the Christians, worship and even to blend Sad- 
duceism with the whole, appear pretty evident. To 
confute this false teaching the Apostle wrote this 
chapter: "If there be no resurrection of the dead, 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 295 

then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, 
then our preaching is vain, and your faith is also 
vain ' \ Dr. Clarke says : ' ' There seems to have been 
some at Corinth who, though they denied the resur- 
rection of the dead, admitted that Christ had 
risen. " The Apostle's argument goes therefore to 
state if Christ was raised from the dead, mankind 
may be raised; and if mankind cannot be raised, 
then the body of Christ was never raised, and our 
belief in a false doctrine is useless, void and un- 
profitable. But could five hundred persons agree in 
this imposition? And if they did, is it possible that 
some one living at the time would not have discov- 
ered the deception, when he could have no interest 
in keeping the secret and might greatly promote his 
peculiar interest by making the discovery? Such a 
case never occurred, and never can occur. The 
testimony of Christ's resurrection is incontrovert- 
ibly true. If Christ has not risen from the dead, 
there is no proof that He has not been justly put to 
death. If He has not been raised from the dead, 
there is a presumption that He has been put to 
death justly; and if so, consequently He has made 
no atonement, and ye are in your sins under power 
of guilt and condemnation. All this reasoning goes 
to prove that at Corinth, even among the false 
teachers, the innocency of our Lord was allowed, 
and that the reality of His resurrection was not 
questioned. The Apostle further says : "Then they 
which are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 
All those who, either by martyrdom or natural 
death, have departed in the faith of our Lord Jesus 
Christ are perished. Their hope was without foun- 
dation, and their faith had not reason and truth for 
its object, and their bodies are dissolved in the 
earth, finally decomposed, notwithstanding the 
promise of Christ to such that He would raise them 
up at the last day". "If in this life only", says the 



295 Memoie and Personal Recollection. 

Apostle, u we have hope in Christ, we are of all 
men most miserable". If in this life we have no 
other hope and confidence but in Christ, (and He 
still is dead and not risen), we are more to be pitied 
than all men; we are sadly deceived; we have 
denied ourselves ; and have been denied by others ; 
have mortified ourselves and been persecuted by 
others. But then Christ is risen from the dead, 
and became the first fruits of them that slept. His 
resurrection has been clearly demonstrated ; and our 
resurrection necessarily follows. As sure as the 
first fruits are proof that there will be a harvest, so 
surely the resurrection of Christ is proof of our 
own resurrection. For since by man came death, 
by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 
Mortality came by Adam; immortality by Christ 
Jesus, our Lord. But every man in his own order. 
First Christ in His order rose from the dead; sec- 
ond, them that are Christ's, all His Apostles, 
martyrs, confessors and faithful followers; third, 
then cometh the end, when the whole mass shall be 
raised in the twinkling of an eye ; for we are told all 
shall stand before Him to be judged for the deeds 
done here in the body. 

Death Shall be Destroyed. 

The last enemy, Death, shall be destroyed. But 
death cannot be destroyed by there simply being no 
further dead. Death can only be destroyed and 
annihilated by a general resurrection. Therefore, 
the fact that death shall be destroyed assures the 
fact that there shall be a general resurrection; and 
this is proof, also, that after the resurrection there 
shall be no more death among them that are saved. 
The doctrine of the resurrection of our Lord was a 
grand doctrine among the Apostles; they consid- 
ered and preached this as the demonstration and 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 297 

proof of the Gospel. The multitudes who em- 
braced Christianity became converts on the evi- 
dence of His resurrection, which was considered the 
pledge and proof of the resurrection of all believers 
of Christ to the possession of the same glory into 
which He had entered. 

Baptism an Emblem of Death. 

The baptism which they received they consid- 
ered as an emblem of their natural death and resur- 
rection. This doctrine St. Paul most pointedly 
preaches (Romans 6:3, 4, 5) : Know ye not that so 
many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were 
baptized into His death. Therefore we are buried 
with Him by baptism into death; that like as Christ 
was raised up from the dead, even so we also walk 
in newness of life, for if we had been planted to- 
gether in the likeness of His death, we shall also be 
in the likeness of His resurrection. It is evident 
from this that all who died in the faith of Christ 
died in the faith of the resurrection, and therefore 
cheerfully gave up their lives unto death. As they 
took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing in 
themselves that they had in heaven a better and en- 
during substance, many of the followers of Christ 
sealed the truth with their blood. They were there- 
fore baptized in reference to this martyrdom. Jesus 
asked his disciples: "Are ye able to drink of the 
cup that I shall drink of? etc. Can you go through 
my sufferings V ' They say unto Him, "We are 
able". He saith unto them, "Ye shall indeed drink 
of my cup. Ye shall bear part of the afflictions of 
the Gospel." The Apostle says : "So I have a bap- 
tism to be baptized with, and how am I straightened 
until it be accomplished V ' The sum of- the Apos- 
tle's reasoning appears to be this: If there be no 
resurrection of the dead, those who in becoming 
Christians expose themselves to all manner of pri- 



298 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

vations, crosses, sufferings and violent death can 
have no compensation to induce them to expose 
themselves to such misery. But as they receive 
baptism as an emblem of death, so they receive it as 
an emblem of a resurrection into eternal life. 

A Vital Question. 

" There are many questions'', says Dr. Clarke, 
"connected with the doctrine of the resurrection I 
could not introduce here without writing a book in- 
stead of short notes on long chapters. One remark 
I cannot help making. The doctrine of the resur- 
rection appears to have been thought of much more 
importance among the primitive Christians than it 
is at the present age. How is this? The Apostles 
were continually insisting on it, and exciting the 
followers of God to diligence, obedience and cheer- 
fulness through it. But their successors in the 
present day seldom mention it. So the Apostles 
preached, and so the primitive Christians believed; 
so we preach, and so our hearers believe". 

The Blessed Hope and Glorious Appearing. 

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious 
appearing of the great God and our Saviour, Jesus 
Christ (Titus 2:13). 

There is something grand and soul inspiring 
about this text of Scripture, but we must have the 
upward gaze to realize it. The hope which we look 
for is the "blessed" appearing of the Saviour 
Whose name, Jesus, was proclaimed by the angel, 
because "He shall save His people from their sins". 
Hallelujah. This hope was cherished by the primi- 
tive Church for the first three centuries. For this 
they looked, waited, and prayed; for this they 
strove, that by any means they might attain unto 
"the first resurrection", and be counted worthy to 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 299 

stand before the Son of Man. They were not satis- 
fied with obeying the call "from darkness to light ", 
"and from the power of Satan unto God", nor the 
call of holiness. But, "forgetting the things" that 
were behind, they pressed toward the mark of their 
high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Not only did 
they "count all things but loss for this hope", but 
they literally "suffered the loss of all things," that 
they might win Christ. It was not a matter of 
Christ winning them; this had been done at their 
conversion, and they were "accepted in the Be- 
loved." They wanted to win Christ as a Bride 
would win a Bridegroom. They were espoused to 
one husband, and waited mid trials and temptations. 
That the trial of your faith, being much more 
precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be 
tried with fire, might be found unto praise, and 
honor, and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, 
Whom, having not seen, ye love; in Whom, though 
now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with 
joy unspeakable and full of glory (1 Peter). 

A Purifying Hope. 

Although he tarried, they were exhorted to 
' ' Gird up the loins of their mind, be sober and hope 
to the end, for the grace that was to be brought to 
them at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Verse 12). 
This hope is blessed, and those who have it are 
blessed, and must be holy to share in the glory of 
the same and have part in the first resurrection 
(Rev. 20:6). This hope is an incentive to holiness 
and purity. St. John, the Divine, declared when 
Christ appeared we should be like Him. "For we 
shall see Him as He is". "And every man that 
hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is 
pure" (1 John 3:3). This hope is a lively hope. 
Peter declared "that we are begotten again unto a 
lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from 



300 Memoir and Personal, Recollection. 

the dead" (1 Peter 1:3). This hope is to "an in- 
heritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that 
f adeth not away, and is reserved in heaven, ready to 
be revealed at the last time". This hope, says 
Paul, is based on the resurrection. "If in this life 
only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most 
miserable" (1 Cor. 15:19). "And if Christ be not 
raised your faith is vain" (Verse 17). 

But he assures us "that Christ is risen, and be- 
come the first fruits of them that slept" (Verse 20). 
Why should we then sorrow as those having no 
hope? "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose 
again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will 
God bring with Him" (1 Thess. 4:14). This takes 
place at the coming of Jesus. "For the Lord Him- 
self shall descend from heaven with a shout, with 
the voice of the archangel,, and with the trump 
of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise 
first, then we which are alive and remain shall be 
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet 
the Lord in the air, and so shall we be ever with the 
Lord" (1 Thess. 4:16, 17). 

Here the righteous dead are raised, and the 
holy living changed. This is the mystery that Paul 
was explaining in 1 Cor. 15:51 when he said: "Be- 
hold I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, 
but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the 
twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the 
trump shall sound, and the dead shall be raised in- 
corruptible, and we shall be changed ' \ The change 
will be the same as took place in Christ, Who was 
the first fruit of the resurrection (or of them that 
slept) from corruptible to incorruptible, and in the 
case of Enoch from mortal to immortality (Verse 
53). Then and not until then will be brought to 
pass the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed 
up in victory". Then will' the victors be able to say, 
"0 death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy 



Memoie and Personal Recollection. 301 

victory?" Truly this hope is blessed, and would 
that all of God's children might realize it. To this 
end we join the great Apostle in his spirit-en- 
lightened prayer that "the God of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit 
of wisdom, and revelation in the knowledge of Him ; 
the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; 
that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, 
and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance 
in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of 
His power to us, who believe according to the work- 
ing of His mighty power, in which He wrought in 
Christ when He raised Him from the dead" (Eph. 
1:17-20). 

You are aware that this teaching will seem 
"like a cunningly devised fable to all those who 
have not the "eyes of their understanding en- 
lightened", and "who have not taken heed to the 
sure word of prophecy, until the day-dawn, and the 
day-star has arisen in their hearts" (2 Peter 1:19). 

The Three Appearings. 

So much for the blessed hope. Let us now con- 
sider the "Glorious" appearing. The first feature 
that calls our attention is that the appearing is to be 
glorious. In the 9th chapter of Hebrews, verses 24, 
26 and 28, we see three appearings of Jesus clearly 
pictured. His first appearance, in verse 26, was not 
a glorious appearing, but one of humiliation. "He 
appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Him- 
self. ' ' We get a picture of this appearing in the 
53rd chapter of Isaiah. "He had no form nor 
comliness", and was not beautiful in appearance, 
but was a ' ' Root out of dry ground ". "He was de- 
spised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and 
acquainted with grief, and we hid, as it were, our 
faces from Him ; He was despised and we esteemed 
Him not." 



302 Memoik and Personal Recollection. 

He was stricken, smitten, afflicted, wounded and 
bruised, and bore chastisement for our sake. Al- 
though He was Lord of all, He humbled Himself, and 
"Became obedient unto death, even the death of 
the cross.' ' 

The next appearing (Hebrew 9:24) was in 
heaven, now there to appear in the presence of God 
for us. We get a picture of His entrance there in 
the 24th Psalm, when the everlasting doors were 
lifted up, to welcome and receive the conqueror of 
earth's greatest battle. We think of Him coming 
on the scene of action — taking His stand on the 
same battle-ground where the first man Adam fell, 
and there, single handed, against the combined 
forces of earth and hell, that were martialed against 
Him in battle array, He fought the fierce battle to a 
finish, and proved Himself more than a match for 
all His foes. Conquering man's last enemy and 
purchasing an eternal redemption for us, He arose 
triumphant over death, hell and the grave. "As- 
cended up on high, leading captivity captive". Was 
it any wonder that the hosts of heaven would cry 
out? "Lift up your heads, ye Gates, and be ye 
lifted up ye everlasting doors, and the King of 
Glory shall come in. Who is this King of Glory? 
The Lord, strong and mighty in battle" (Psalm 
24:7, 8). 

Jesus took His place at the Father's right hand, 
on the throne of grace, and is there to appear in the 
presence of God for all mankind (Jew and Gentile 
alike). Having broken down the middle wall or 
partition that was between us (Jews and Gentiles), 
and abolished in the flesh the enmity. "For to 
make in Himself of twain one new man". "And 
that He might reconcile both unto God in one body 
by the cross". "For through Him we both have 
access by one Spirit unto God in one body by the 
cross unto the Father" (Eph. 2:15, 16, 18). 



Memoik and Personal Recollection. 303 

His Coming Again. 

Jesus is coming again ; but while He tarries the 
Spirit is calling a people, from among the Jews and 
Gentiles, to be ready for the advent. In the 15th 
chapter of Acts, the 14th and 15th verses, we find: 
"How that God at first did visit the Gentiles to take 
out of them a people for His name". And to this 
agreed the words of the prophets, "After this He 
shall return". From among the Jews also there is 
a remnant being gathered out according to the 
election of grace, gathered, to share in the same 
Glory (Romans 11:15). 

St. Peter says : 1 1 For we have not followed cun- 
ningly-devised fables when we made known unto 
you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus 
Christ; but were eye witnesses of His majesty" (2 
Peter 1:16). As a good brother says, "These 
words were written by the Apostle Peter towards 
the close of his life, when he felt the time of his 
departure was at hand. He had fought many hard 
battles since the night he witnessed the Transfigura- 
tion on the Holy Mount. He is now warning the 
Church to keep their faith in Christ. As a proof 
that Jesus was the son of God, he first mentions the 
incident on the Mount. No doubt this was a great 
event in Peter's life, and the voice that he heard 
from heaven confirmed the reality of his belief, that 
Jesus was the Divine Son of God. In the 19th 
verse of this chapter he sets aside, as it were, this 
experience, and says that "we have also a more 
sure word of Prophecy", viz., the Scriptures, 
"whereunto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a 
light that shineth in a dark place, until the day 
dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts." Peter 
knew that if his hearers rested their faith in what 
he had seen, instead of the inspired word of God, it 
would be easy for some one to tell them that he had 



304 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

been dreaming, or else that the story of the Trans- 
figuration was a "myth". But Peter takes his 
words from the Scriptures and tells his hearers that 
they are not of private interpretation, but easily 
understood, and that if the people take heed thereto 
the "day star" will arise in their hearts. In other 
words, if his hearers put their trust in God's word 
and believe in Jesus with their whole heart, the 
whole course of their lives will be changed. To use 
the words of Jesus, "Ye shall know the truth and 
the truth shall make you free". 

The Eeeoes of the Day. 

The popular churches of this day actually por- 
tray the Gospel as a fable. They claim to believe 
that the Bible is God's word and law, but that in 
many things it cannot be realized in this life. For 
instance, if a person should become convicted of 
his sins and sinful life, and should enter one of 
these latter-day places of worship seeking relief and 
expecting to receive help, he would be greatly dis- 
appointed. The advice he would receive would be 
to join the society and come under its influence. 
The people would tell him that it is impossible for 
him to live a life free from sin ; that they themselves 
commit sin every day — in word, thought, and deed 
— and not until one died would he be free from sin. 
How would one to whom this doctrine was taught 
feel, having previously read the words of Jesus — 
"Except a man be born again he cannot see the 
kingdom of God, and whosoever is born of God doth 
not commit sin?" Imagine his disappointment 
after such an interview, for he still feels that load 
of sin bearing him down. He would feel much as 
did Ponce de Leon when, after searching for the 
fountain of youth, where he might "Bathe and have 
his youth return to him again, he found the story of 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 305 

such a fountain to be but an Indian fable. They 
claim that they are the followers of the lowly Jesus, 
yet they deny that His teachings can effect their 
lives. Therefore their religion does not do any- 
thing for them ; they fare no better spiritually than 
the heathen, except that their worship is more 
civilized and human, than that of the heathen. They 
deny that we can be saved from sin in this present 
world. Is it any wonder that people are becoming 
careless and indifferent how they live, when they 
see how the churches of the land have drifted into 
unbelief and higher criticism is cutting the Bible in 
pieces? Surely church members are following the 
devices of the devil. 

The Sure Word of Prophecy. 

"We have also", says Peter, "a more sure 
word of prophecy", and how true it is, that if one 
puts the word of God into practice that he is 
changed, and his life is made different from what it 
was before. He finds that a power has come into 
his life which makes it possible for him to live above 
sin. The Mohammedans and other Eastern re- 
ligionists, who are following the devices of men, re- 
ceive no results from their beliefs; they realize 
nothing but disappointment. A missionary who 
went to China and began to preach to the heathen, 
telling them that their worship was wrong, that the 
Bible contained the truth of God, says they were able 
to meet every argument that he presented out of 
their own books, but when the missionary told them 
what his faith had done for him, and that the blood 
of Jesus had transformed his life, giving him happi- 
ness and peace, they were put to silence ; their re- 
ligion had performed no such miracle in their lives. 
Thank God there is power in the blood of Jesus that 
passes all understanding. The great mass of peo- 
ple are not able to comprehend this fact, yet those 



306 Memoik and Personal. Recollection. 

who have experienced salvation from sin and holi- 
ness of heart know that the Gospel of Christ is true. 
Paul was not ashamed of what it could do because 
he knew it was true — the truth of God unto salva- 
tion, to every one who would believe it is true. So 
let us proclaim the truth of the Gospel to every land, 
until every one shall know that it is possible to live 
godly in this present evil world, and to be sanctified 
wholly and to be ready to meet Jesus when He 
comes. 

The Shorter Catechism asks: (1) What is the 
chief end of man? Man's chief end is to glorify 
God, and to enjoy Him forever. (2) What rule 
hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and 
enjoy Him? The word of God, which is contained 
in the Scriptures of the Old ano! New Testaments, is 
the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and 
enjoy Him. (3) What do the Scriptures principally 
teach? The Scriptures principally teach what man 
is to believe concerning God and what duty God re- 
quires of man. 

Trying to Blast the Bock of Ages. 

In the Chained Bible, Rev. F. D. Helm says: 
' ' The history of the world is a history of the oppo- 
sition of Satain against God. At all times since he 
was oast out of Heaven he has been arrayed against 
God, and against the truth of Jehovah. He has 
used various means, but seemingly the one most 
pleasing and fascinating to him is to make the Bible 
a closed book, thereby keeping the sons of Adam 
from learning the way of life ! ' ' 

Many times do we see, as we scan the dusty 
pages of antiquity, where he has sought to destroy 
the Bible and make it only a leaf in the memory of 
some old devout saint. He has sought to use every 
ingenuity of Hell to blot out the last traces of God's 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 307 

letter to mankind. He has enlisted princes, gen- 
erals, and emperors. He has even come into the 
pale of the Church and enrolled priests, popes, and 
clergymen, called higher critics to completely wreck 
the holy canon. When Luther made his defense to 
Charles V. of Germany, defending the doctrine of 
salvation by faith, as taught in the holy writ, the 
emperor publicly declared that he was ' ' determined 
to employ all his kingdom, friends, body, blood, and 
even his life, to prevent the godless undertaking 
from spreading.' ' 

About the middle of the sixteenth century we 
find a copy of the Bible, translated by Tyndale and 
revised by Coverdale, chained to the desk in every 
church in England. Crowds of common people 
flocked around to hear its truths read to them in 
their mother tongue. But soon even the Chained 
Bible was closed. The dust of years gathered upon 
its cover. We read in "Knights of England": "In 
1543, an act was passed which limited the reading 
of the Bible and the New Testament in the English 
tongue to noblemen and gentlemen, and forbade the 
reading of the same to the i lower sort ' — to artificers, 
prentices, journeymen, serving men, husbandmen, 
and laborers, and to women, under pain of im- 
prisonment" (Vol. 2, p. 445). 

High Cost of Scriptures. 

A Bible at that time cost as much as a good, 
comfortable house does now. There were only a 
few thousand copies in existence. But God pro- 
posed that His message should be heralded from the 
glaciers of the cold, cold, bleak North to the sunny 
climes of the Southern seas, and from the fairy land 
of the rising sun to the last hill tops kissed by its 
evening splendor. 



308 Memoir and Personal Eecollection. 

The handicraft of Guttenburg, of Mentz, 
ushered in a new era for the spread of the Gospel 
and the Bible. Now, instead of a scribe laboring 
months to produce a single copy of the Holy Writ, 
millions are turned off the press in the same time. 

Thomas Paine once boasted, in the Broadway 
Hotel in New York, that in five years there would 
not be a Bible in America. How we smile at his 
folly. Last year there were printed and circulated 
three or four hundred times as many copies of the 
Bible as there were in all the world when Thomas 
Paine died. "Now there are in existence enough 
copies of the Bible so that if all men, women and 
children who can read, of all the earth, were 
gathered in one vast congregation, and were accom- 
modated with Bibles, and could be suited as to the 
tongue, all, at once, could look upon the printed 
page of the word of God and read in concert the 
Sermon on the Mount". 

"A quarter of a century ago Col. Robert G. 
Ingersoll, in the zenith of his infidelistic glory, as he 
boasted, ridiculed the Bible out of existence. Where 
are his successors? Upon whom has his mantle' 
fallen? His blatant skepticism has disappeared and 
his spectacular godless life work is lost in oblivion, 
as a pebble is lost that is dropped into the sea, while 
the power of the Bible upon the life of humanity is 
mightier than ever before". 

Trying to Extinguish the Light. 

"Men have thought that they could extinguish 
the light from the Holy Book, and it shines into the 
darkest hovel in the world. Better strive to extin- 
guish the noon-day sun with a dipper of water. Men 
have thought that they could hew down His Cross 
and dethrone the Lord of Glory; they have striven 
to overturn the Rock of Ages. Easier could they 



Memoik and Personal Recollection. 309 

take the wing of morning and fly to Venus and cut 
her loose from the universe, or shatter the Rock of 
Gibraltar with a pop-gun. Centuries have come 
and gone ; kingdoms have risen and fallen ; republics 
have been erected upon their ashes, and fallen into 
decay and forgotten, save for the moldy, time-worn 
pages of history. Still the Bible lives on and 
shines as the one bright star amid the decay and 
ruin. Though it is older than the oldest histories 
that fed the flames of the four thousand baths of 
Alexandria for six months, yet it is as fresh as the 
latest crisp from the press. Though its truth is as 
old as eternity, yet it is as new as the last sunbeam 
that kissed your cheek". 

The Wonderful Book. 

The Bible is the foundation of all truth. No 
matter what our study may be, there we will find the 
acropolis of beauty; there we find the sublimest 
astronomy, the star of Bethlehem, and the Sun of 
righteousness. And within these covers we are told 
of the grandest botany ; it tells us of the plant of 
renown, the "Lily of the Valley" and the "Rose of 
Sharon." Or do we study geology? Here we read 
of the Rock of Ages and the white stone, with the 
name graven there on which no man knoweth save 
he that receiveth it. Or are we seeking for wealth? 
Here find we "Gold tried in the fire". Or do we* 
love to pore over the annals of the misty ages of the 
past? Here is the most ancient of all records of the 
history of the human race. Whatever your science, 
whatever your theme, records of this would bow in 
reverence before the Book of Ages and there gain 
inspiration to set your heart on fire. 

Every great book that has been published since 
Guttenberg invented printing has, directly or in- 
directly, derived much of its power from the sacred 
oracles. Scan the books that have had great weight 



310 Memoie and Peksonal Recollection. 

in civilization and you will see that the authors 
dipped their pens in the fountain of divine truth 
and receved their inspiration. Goethe, the admired 
of all skeptics, had the walls of his home at Wiemar 
covered with the religious maps and pictures. Mil- 
ton's "Paradise Lost" breathes forth a part of the 
Bible story in verse. Spencer received his eleva- 
tion sentiment from the parables of Christ. 

"Macauley, as if to put a wreath of diamonds 
around his gigantic sentences, crowns them with 
Scripture quotations. Addison's ' Spectators' is 
bathed in the stream that broke from beneath the 
throne of God, clear as a crystal." "Hobbes drew 
from the ' castle of truth' the weapons with which 
he afterwards assaulted it. Lord Byron, Pope, and 
Johnson drank deep of the style of the inspired 
Orientals. And where e 'er we go, roaming o 'er the 
hills and plains of this imperial domain of Bible 
truth, we find all the American, English, Italian, 
German, and Spanish poets, painters, orators, and 
rhetoricians there seeking the inspiration that will 
make their names go down to posterity in letters of 
gold". 

In the face of the fact that higher critics are 
telling us that the Bible is neglected, full of errors, 
and "not even good history", its sale is wonderful. 
Last year, and the year before, and the year before 
that, and so for many, many years, there have been 
more copies of the Bible sold than any other book, 
more than all of the so-called "best sellers" com- 
bined; yes, it outshines all other books, as the sun 
in its noon-day magnificence outsplendors the tallow 
candle. 

His Abiding Word. 

When the last skeptic has been buried in the sea 
of f orgetfulness ; when the last infidel and agnostic 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 311 

has passed from the stage of action; when the last 
higher critic has been numbered with the nameless 
dust, the word of God will still be as fresh and as 
full of power as it was before they attempted to 
vent their spite against it And long after the last 
Pyrrhonist has molded into red dust, and the marble 
slab that marked the spot of his interment has been 
covered with moss and sunk into decay and oblivion, 
the truth of God's Bible will then stand out in letn 
ters of gold to bless mankind. "The word of our* 
God shall stand forever. ' ' 

The Prophet Job, who wrestled with doubts and 
fears as we do today, asks this question: "If a man 
die shall he live again 1 ' ' And adds, ' ' All the days 
of my appointed time will I wait, till my change 
come" (Job 14:14). Again he exclaims (chapter; 
19:23-27) : "Oh, that my words were now written; 
oh, that they were printed in a book — that they were 1 
graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock f or-i 
ever ; for I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that 
He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and 
though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet) 
in my flesh I shall see God, "Whom I shall see for* 
myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not an- 
other. ' ' 

Brother J. W. Crouch, in commenting on these 
texts, shows how much greater is the Christian man 
or woman's triumph over their latest foe, and hope' 
of eternal happiness than that of the agnostic or 1 
infidel. He says of The Hope of Immortality in 
these inspiring words : 

"When the sun goes down will it rise the same? 
Can infidel breath blow out his flame ? 
In the day when the clouds have left the sky 
Will he shine no more to the hopeful eye? 



312 Memoie and Personal, Kecollection. 

* ' The seed I plant, is it sown in vain ? 
At the proper time will there be no grain? 
The countless dead beneath the sod, 
Will they prove indeed there is no God? 

* ' The sun, no doubt, will arise and shine ; 
And 'the life', who built me this house of clay, 
Will raise it immortal and fair, some day; 
The finer extracts, the pure from the base. 

"The potter, of clay, forms a beautiful vase: 
My change I wait till, in glad surprise, 
Creation is again a Paradise." 



The Unitecl Presbyterian publishes this beauti- 
ful comment on 2nd Tim. 4 :6-8, E. V. : 

A Prisoner's Dying Thoughts. 

"For I am already being offered and the time; 
of my departure is come. I have fought the good 
fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the* 
faith ; henceforth there is laid up for me the crown 
of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous 
judge, will give me at that day ; and not to me only, 
but also to all them that have loved His appearing. ' ' 
Such are the thoughts of the dying prisoner, Paul, 
in the dungeon at Kome. Let us read the topic this 
way, "A Dying ^Prisoner's Undying Thoughts'', 
for certainly these words are deathless. They have 
been preached from thousands of lips, they have 
been on the tongues of the dying for two thousand 
years. They have the assurance of unnumbered 
souls in every age since their utterance. They are 
words that will never die until all kingdoms of men 
shall be brought to a knowledge of Jesus and His 
love, nor even then. There are few men, however,' 
who could give expression to this sentiment as 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 313 

heartily and confidently as the man who was waiting 
his execution at the time he gave them utterance. 
Surely Paul had fought a good fight. No man ever 
fought the world, the flesh and the devil more hero- 
ically than this great apostle to the Gentiles. He 
lived and died for Jesus. His banner had but one 
insciption — Jesus and the resurrection of the dead. 
And, now that the end is at hand, he confidently 
writes: " I have fought the good fight Well done,; 
good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy 
of the Lord. I have finished the course". The race 
was now finished. He was down at the stadium, 
ready to receive the victor 's crown. He ran, look- 
ing unto Jesus, and so finished his course. There 
were thorns in the way, and the sharp stones 
pierced his feet and left the bloody footprints in. 
the sand, but he ran on. He heard the jeers and the, 
scoffs of men, yet he held on resolutely for the goal, 
and he reached it victoriously, triumphantly, and 
before the innumerable company of witnesses in 
heaven and on earth he proclaims, "I have finished 
the course; I have kept the faith". Blessed treas- 
ure. It was worthy of being kept. Many a time his 
faith was tried, but he held it fast. It was a hard 
thing to go back to Jerusalem and defend the cause 
he had persecuted, but he kept faith with Jesus and 
did it. It was no small trial to go into the Jewish 
synagogues and tell the story to those who hated the 
doctrines he preached. But he kept the faith. He 
was stoned, and flung out through the gates of 
Lystra, as one dead, yet still he trusted and kept on. 
Henceforth — bless God for that henceforth. What 
a consolation it has been to the dying in all ages?' 
Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown ofj 
righteousness. It is all over now; the end has 
come; the fight is fought; the course is run; the 
faith is kept — now for the crown. It is up to the 
Crown Keeper now. And still he is keeping the 



314 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

faith, believing that Jesus will make good to him, 
and also to all them that have loved His appearing. 
May God grant that each one of us may have a like 
assurance when we come to face the final hour. 

A Lamp to Our Feet, and a Light to Our Pathway* 

With John Wesley, I want to know one thing — 
how to land safe on that happy shore. God Him- 
self has condescended to teach the way; for this 
very end He came down from Heaven. He hath 
written it down in a Book. Oh, give me that Book, 
at any price alone, only God is here. In His pres- 
ence I open, I read His Book, for this end — to find 
the way to Heaven. Is there any doubt concerning 
the meaning of what I read! Does anything appear 
dark or intricate ? I lift up my heart to the Father 
of lights. Lord, is it not Thy word? If any man 
lacks wisdom let him ask God; Thou givest liberally 
and upbraidest not. Thou hast said: "If any man 
is willing to do Thy will, he shall know". I am 
willing to do. Let me know Thy will. I then 
search after and consider parallel passages of 
Scripture, comparing spiritual things with spir- 
itual. If any doubts still remain, I consult those 
who are experienced in the things of God, and then 
the writings of those who, being dead, yet speaketh; 
and what I thus learn that I teach. i 

Father Boehm's Testimony. 

How many of those departed saints with whom 
we worshiped in this chapel that have gone on be- 
fore and are waiting for us to come? Let us close 
with the farewell peoration of Father Boehm, who 
for over 70 years proclaimed that this hope was 
the power of God and the wisdom of God to all who 
have been saved from their sins. i 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 315 

Preaching his farewell sermon from the text 
Eev. 3 :20 — ' ' Behold, I stand at the door and knock ; 
if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I wilt 
come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me ' ' 
— he says: "We have here set before us an, 
astounding condescension. The great Being con- 
descends to come and stand at the door of our 
hearts, and waits for an entrance. This indeed is 
a wonderful condescension, for here it is set before 
us that Blessed Jesus, "Who has all power in heaven 
and earth, condescends to come down to dependent 
sinful beings and waits at the door of their hearts 
for a voluntary entrance. 'X stand', He says, 'at the 
door and knock; I will not break the door'. There 
must be a voluntary consent on the part of sinners 
who hear His voice. They must invite the Holy 
Spirit to come in, with His gracious influences and 
divine power. ' Behold I stand at the door and 
knock ; if any man hear My voice and open the door 
I will come in ; I will turn out all that is contrary to 
the divine influences, I will sup with him, and he 
with Me'. Glory to God in the highest for this 
manifestation of His love, for His goodness, for His 
mercy, for His long suffering extended to us. 0, 
the goodness of God in sparing us for another call, 
another gracious touch, another divine influence. 
0, that our hearts may be opened ; and may this be a! 
day long to be remembered — a day of mercy and 
power in the salvation of many precious souls. 
Blessed be God for His divine mercy and goodness. 
I rejoice that the enjoyment of the favor of God is? 
something that does not grow old. It is ever new 
and precious. It is as new to my soul today as it 
was many years ago. In the days of my youth the, 
Lord manifested Himself to my soul, and led me to 
see the evil I should shun, and His grace led me on.; 
And I bless the Lord, now in old age, it is the source 
of comfort, of joy, and hope. Look beyond and what] 



316 Memoik and Personal Recollection. 

do we see! A bright and heavenly day, a glorious 
day, awaits us beyond this vale of tears". 

Amazing grace; how sweet the sound, 

That saved a wretch like me; 
I once was lost, but now am found, 

Was blind, but now I see. 
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, 

And grace my fears relieved; 
How precious did that grace appear 

The hour I first believed? 

Through many dangers, toils and snares 

I have already come; 
'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, 

And grace will lead me home; 
The Lord has promised good to me, 

His word my hope secures; 
He will my shield and portion be 

As long as life endures. 

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail, 

And mortal life shall cease, 
I shall possess within the veil 

A life of joy and peace. 
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, 

The sun forbear to shine, 
But God, Who called me here below, 

Will be forever mine. 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 317 



March 21, 1893. 
New York "Voice", 
New York City. 

Dear sir: 

I send you herewith a letter addressed to the 
Hon. Henry Watterson, the veteran Editor of the 
Louisville Courier Journal, and his reply to same, 
which after several months since I wrote mine, I re- 
ceived through the mail yesterday. It would seem 
that on reading between the lines, that Mr. W. 
would not feel averse to seeing it in print, even 
though no Southern newspaper would dare to pub- 
lish it. If not, why did it not find its way into the 
waste-basket instead of being returned after a lapse 
of six months. Since I wrote my letter, which was 
retrospective of men and deeds of the past, the great- 
est political revolution of modern times had taken 
place in our nation. That such change in our civil 
government should awaken the deepest concern, is 
but natural. That the eyes of the civilized world is 
turned towards it, is evident. While my letter to 
Mr. Watterson related to men and acts of the past, 
yet, on reading it in connection with the three 
columns in the "Voice", publishing the debauchery 
of the Hon. J. Gr. Carlysle, and Mr. Cleveland's 
knowledge of same before appointing him to the 
high office of Secretary of U. S. Treasury, it seems 
almost prophetic of the present. It has been fre- 
quently said that history repeats itself. If those 
scandalous charges of drunkenness, licentiousness, 
and dishonesty and their corroborating proofs are 
true, then the history of the great crime and dis- 
grace that attended the overthrow of the Democrat 
party in 1860 repeats itself upon the first restora- 
tion of that party in 1893. It was the licentiousness 
of the Southern Statesmen and the imbecility of a 



318 Memoik and Personal Recollection. 

Northern Democrat as President along with the sub- 
serviency of a subsidized public press that placed 
that dark blot upon our national character. The 
treason and disgrace accompanying the downfall of 
the Democrat Party, was due to the same utter dis- 
regard of patriotism and same partisan abuse of a 
sacred duty. The placing of dissolute characters in 
positions of the highest responsibility and trust 
The late revolt resulting in the overthrow of the 
Republican Party was due to an effort of the 
people to rid their government of corrupt 
public officials. But I ask, where in any in- 
stance has a Republican (during the time that party 
controlled the government) made such a scandalous 
appointment as this is, if these charges are true. 
Take any of these three charges, if true, and known 
to the President before he made the appointment, 
the American People should not have been sub- 
jected to such a disgrace. The drunken scene at 
Senator Beck's funeral alone (under the circum- 
stances) was sufficient cause to have prevented the 
putting a man (so lost to all sense of decency) in a 
position of such high responsibilty. I called a 
prominent Democrat (and news-paperman's) atten- 
tion to these charges in the "Voice" and asked him 
why Cleveland would pass by thousands of upright, 
pure men in the Democrat Party and appoint a man 
with such a record as that ; bringing disgrace on his 
party and the Nation; bringing his own administra- 
tion into well merited contempt by appointing a 
man who had betrayed every trust ever imposed in 
him. His reply was John G. Carlysle was the 
brainiest man in the United States and had it not 
been for the fact that the periodical debauches 
could not be denied; he would have been 
the nominee instead of Cleveland. I replied 
that was the veriest "rot", that I could name a 
score of dissolute lawyers at the Pittsburgh Bar, 



Memoik and Peksonal Recollection. 319 

whose only distinction is their dissolute habits and 
yet frequently do we hear the remark "he is a 
brainy man". Away with all such rot. There are 
two more reliable ways for accounting for the 
parody on common sense. First, — Distance lends 
enchantment, Second, — "Birds of a feather flock to- 
gether". Let us apply this dissolute, vile, brainy 
sentiment to other walks in life. What would be 
thought of the steam ship company, that in order to 
secure great ability, would employ the most dis- 
solute captains and pilots in the profession to navi- 
gate their vessels'? The management of the great- 
railway systems that to secure efficient engineers and^ 
conductors would make inebriety a test of eminent 
fitness. If drunkenness is an essential qualification 
in a statesman, why not in a bank cashier or a phy- 
sician? If licentiousness adorns the Halls of Con- 
gress, why not the presidential mansion? If it is 
the highest requisite for a Kentuckey Senator and 
Cabinet Minister, why not adorn the parlors of our 
distinguished public officials ; with Kate Rileys, with 
Mariah, Mauds and Daiseys. "This is not a parti- 
san screed; it is the indignant protest of an Ameri- 
can citizen, who never held or aspired to hold office, 
a man who has proven to be able to earn a livelihood 
outside of the public treasury; a citizen whose in- 
telligence and manly independence resents such a 
travesty upon his rights as a free American citizen, 
no matter how high the source it comes from. What 
a commentary upon our boasted civilization? What 
a reflection upon the most ordinary business pru- 
dence? If this man has proven himself in every 
station of life false ; what possible hope has the 
president that he will not prove false to the high 
trust he has placed upon him. If he has proven un- 
trustworthy to his clients, who trusted their money 
to his care, what security has the government that 
he will not prove more so with their treasure? If 



320 Memoik and Personal Recollection. 

he disgraced the state of Kentucy after being so 
highly honored is he not just as likely, when in one 
of his drunken debauches to bring disgrace upon the 
Nation? And even though he should not, is it any 
less imprudent to say the least for the President to 
appoint a man with such well established dissolute 
habits? What a shining example for the young men 
of America, for the president of the United States' 
to set, said a Father (of several grown up sons, who 
himself had voted for Cleveland) to me. A young 
lawyer just entering upon the profession, said to 
his friend : "Bill, I am going to learn to drink whis- 
key". "Why?" replied his friend. "Why, don't 
you see if I become a drunkard and whore-master, 
the people will all see what a brainy man I am, then 
I will go and take the Keeley cure and my fortune 
is made". I submit to any fair-minded man (whose 
partisan greed for spoils and office has not eat out 
every vestige of patriotism) if this young man's 
commentary upon that brainy "rot" is not a fair 
one whether eminating from a president ; or a peas- 
ant. Since I began writing this article I met a 
prominent Democrat on the street. He is one of 
our wealthiest and most upright citizens, a life long 
Democrat; his business enterprizes run up to mil- 
lions annually. I called his attention to the charges 
against Carlysle saying: "Why did Cleveland pass 
by all you decent Democrats to appoint a man with 
a record like that?" "0 ! those charges are not true,, 
Carlysle, like many other good men has the weak- 
ness of taking a drink occasionally and when he 
does, he sometimes will go on a spree for two or 
three weeks". I replied: "Good men don't get 
drunk; much less go on a drunk for three weeks". 
He answered: "Carlysle is the greatest financier 
this Nation ever had ; just wait and see ' '. I said : 
"If Kate Riley story is true his greatest financial 
ability was not apparent, and besides does your 



Memoik and Personal Recollection. 321 

treasurer go on a big drunk". "Oh, no, I never em- 
ploy a drinking man in my business. I have no use for 
a man that gets drunk". This was the language of a 
man whose business sagacity, success, and integrity 
and good moral character is such as would not only 
insure the people against dishonor and disgrace, but 
would give promise of a faithful, honest administra- 
tion of a public office. When I asked my first Dem 
ocratic friend why the President passed by such men 
in the Democratic Party to give so important an 
office to a notorious drunken politician, his answer 
was : ' ' The American People did not require good 
moral character in their public officials, only ability 
was demanded". I answered: "Ability to dema- 
gogue you mean". Where outside of getting drunk 
and disgracing the state, have the people any prac- 
tical demonstration of transcendent ability; that 
takes precedent over the thousands of upright Dem- 
ocrats of good character and business success to 
commend him for the place. But cui bono — If such 
a travesty upon the public decency, good sense, and 
ordinary business prudence is to be regarded as the 
fulfilling of those pledges of reform and integrity. 
Then can we well understand why the natural ele- 
ments ; and the heavens as it were ; in fiery indigna- 
tion on the 4th of March showered down upon the 
heads of that senseless mob of office seekers, the 
pitiless snow, and bleak winds of disapproval. The 
wonder is in view of the fate of Sodom and Gomor- 
rha that such a display of hypocrisy did not call 
for fire and brimstone ; rather than hail and sleet. 
But then it is written that ' ' hail shall sweep away the 
refuge of lies". Just imagine a righteous God, 
looking down with complacency on that scene of 
American Freemen, dragging in the dust their man- 
hood while listening to the glittering generalities, 
and high sounding platitudes of a political dema- 
gogue, whose first acts had stamped all these prom- 



322 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

ises as bosh. Have we as a people, boasting of our 
intelligence and courage, degenerated until an un- 
scrupulous politician can stand up and proclaim 
that drunkenness and licentiousness is wisdom par 
excellence ; that appointing a man notoriously false 
to every trust; is an honest prudent administration 
of public office. If this is the verdict of the Christian 
enlightenment of the 19th Century, then might the 
grand old man, the English premier have reason to 
fear that 90 odd years of upright life, pure endeavor 
and good moral character would go down in gloom. 
Well might the admirers of Abraham Lincoln fear 
lest that immaculate example of fidelity to right- 
eous principles and integrity to the right with the 
people upon whose altar his life was sacrificed, 
should come to regard treason as a virtue, and lofty 
patriotism as a vice to be shunned as a bar to office 
holding under the American Government. Oh, you 
American Freemen from Maine to Oregon, from 
Alaska to Hawaii, from East to West, North to 
South, let a plain citizen with no wrongs, political 
or otherwise to revenge no partisan screed to 
avenge and with no desire other than the good of 
our civil and religious institution at heart proclaim 
in the strongest language, I can use if you will stand 
by and see our Congressional Hall, our Senate 
Chamber and Presidential Mansion prostituted to 
the beastial passions of unscrupulous politicians, 
and drunken lawyers, then may you write ichabod 
upon your banners. Then may it be truly said of 
the American people they are a nation of advent- 
ures; capable only of treason and spoils. If these* 
charges cannot be denied, then let us hang our heads 
with shame. For be it known drunkenness is drunk- 
enness, licentiousness is licentiousness, whether in a 
president or a peasant on a throne, or on a farm. 
And "Falsus in uno; Falsus in omnium". 

As an American Citizen entitled to a respect- 



Memoik and Personal Recollection. 323 

able government and in behalf of every honest man 
and decent woman in the United States (if charges 
cannot be refuted) I demand of President Cleve- 
land, the instant dismissal of John Griffith Carlysle 
of Kentucky. Righteousness exalteth a Nation 
while sin is a reproach to any people. 

J. B. Coeey. 



His Excellency, John Quincy Adams, Sixth 
President of the United States. 
(His Father Being the Second). 

"Who when but eleven years of age, took a 
tearful adieu of his mother, and rowed out in a 
small boat to a ship anchored in the bay, to sail with 
his father for Europe, through a fleet of hostile 
British cruisers. The bright, animated boy spent a 
year and a half in Paris, where his father was asso- 
ciated with Franklin, and Lee as Minister Plenipo- 
tentiary. His intelligence attracted the notice of 
these distinguished men and he received from them 
flattering marks of attention". Upon leaving Col- 
lege at the age of twenty, he studied law for three 
years. When Great Britain commenced war 
against France in 1793, to arrest the progress of the 
French Revolution, Mr. Adams wrote some articles, 
urging entire neutrality on part of the United 
States. The view was not a popular one. Many 
felt, that, as France helped us we were bound to 
help France. But President Washington coincided 
with Mr. Adams, and issued his proclamation of 
neutrality. June, 1794, he being then but 27 years 
of age, was appointed by Washington, resident min- 



324 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

ister at the Netherlands. In July, 1797, he left the 
Hague to go to Portugal as Minister Plenipoten- 
tiary, Washington at this time wrote to his father, 
John Adams, extolling the fitness of his son for the 
position. Mr. Adams was very reluctant to accept 
the mission to Berlin, as it was an appointment 
made by his father, who had succeeded Washington 
in the Presidential chair. But his father wrote to 
him, informing him of the earnest wish of Washing- 
ton that the country might not lose the benefit of his 
familiarity with the European courts. To his 
mother, John Quincy wrote in reply — ' i I know with 
what delight your truly maternal heart has received 
every testimonial of Washington's favorable voice. 
It is among the most precious gratifications of my! 
life to reflect upon the pleasure which my conduct 
has given to my parents. How much, my dear 
mother is required of me to support and justify 
such a judgment as that which you have copied into 
your letter". 

It was said of him, that to a very remarkable 
degree he was abstemious, and temperate in his 
habits; always rising early, taking much exercise. 
President Adams, stood almost alone in Congress, 
and single handed opposed the sum of all villianies ; 
in its incipiency in the United States. In 1829, after 
having served his country in its highest offices, retir- 
ing from the Presidential chair; but such was the 
esteem in which he was held that in November, 1830, 
he was elected as representative to Congress. 

In accepting it, he thus recognized the Roman 
principle that it is honorable for the general of yes- 
terday to act as corporal today, if by so doing he 
can render service to his country. Deep as are the 
obligations of our Nation to him as ambassador, as 
secretary of State, and as President, in his capacity 
as legislator in the House of Representatives; he 



Memoik and Peksonal Recollection. 325 

conferred benefits upon our land which eclipsed 
them all; and which can never be ovei -estimated. 

"For seventeen years, until his death, he occu- 
pied the post of representative, towering above all 
his peers, ever ready to do battle for freedom and 
winning the title of 'old man eloquent'. On one 
occasion Mr. Adams presented a petition, signed by 
several women, against the annexation of Texas for 
the purpose of cutting it up into slave States. Mr. 
Howard of Maryland, said that these women dis- 
credited not only themselves, but their section of 
country, by turning from their domestic duties to 
the conflicts of political life". "Are women", ex- 
claimed Mr. Adams, ' ' to have no opinions or actions 
on subjects relating to the general welfare? Where 
did the Gentleman get this principle ? Did he find it 
in sacred history — in the language of Miram the 
prophetess, in one of the noblest and most sublime 
songs of triumph that ever met the human eye or 
ear? Did the Gentleman never hear of Deborah, to 
whom the children of Israel came up for judgment? 
Has he forgotten Esther, who by her petition saved 
her people and her country? To go from sacred 
history to profane, does the Gentleman there find it 
discreditable for women to take an interest in polit- 
ical affairs? Has he forgotten the Spartan mother, 
who said to her son, when going out to battle: 'My 
Son, come back to me with thy shield, or upon thy 
shield V Does he not remember Cloelia, and her 
hundred companions, who swam across the river, 
under a shower of darts escaping from Porsena? 
Has he forgotten Corneloa, the mother of Gracchi? 
Does he not remember Portia, the wife of Brutus, 
and the daughter of Cato? To come to later per- 
iods, what says history of our Anglo-Saxon ances- 
tors? To say nothing of Boadiciea, the British 
heroine in the time of the Ceasars ; what name is 
more illustrious than Elizabeth? Or, if he will go to 



326 Memoib and Peksonal Recollection. 

the Continent, will he not find the names of Maria 
Thersa of Hungary, of the two Catharines of Russia, 
and Isabella, of Castille, the patroness of Columbus. 
Did she bring discredit on her sex by mingling in 
politics V In this glowing strain, he silenced and 
overwhelmed his antagonist — Congress yielding to 
the proslavery spirit of the South, passed a resolve : 
' ' that all petitions relating to slavery without being 
printed or referred shall be laid on the table, and no 
action shall be had thereon ". Some of the pro- 
slavery party forged a petition as from slaves to see 
if Mr. Adams would dare to present it. On the 6th 
of February, 1837, Mr. Adams rose with this forged 
petition in his hand, and said: "I hold a paper pur- 
porting to come from slaves, I wish to know if such 
a paper comes within the order of the house respect- 
ing petitions". A storm of indignation was 
aroused, Waddy Thompson of South Carolina, 
Charles E. Haynes, of Georgia, Dixon H. Lewis, of 
Alabama, sprang to the floor with resolutions that 
John Quincy Adams, by attempting to present a 
petition purporting to be from slaves, has been 
guilty of gross disrespect to the house, and that he 
be instantly brought to the bar to receive severe 
censure of the speaker. Never were assailants more 
thoroughly discomfited. "Mr. Speaker' ' said Mr. 
Adams, "to prevent the consumption of time, I ask 
the Gentlemen to modify their resolution a little, so 
that when I come to the bar of the house, I may not 
with one word put an end to it. I did not present 
the petition. I said I had a paper purporting to be 
a petition from slaves; and I asked the speaker 
whether he considered such a paper as included in 
the general order of the house, that all petitions re- 
lating to slavery should be laid on the table. I in- 
tended to take the decision of the speaker, before I 
went one step toward presenting that petition. This 
is the fact. I adhere to the right of petition. Where 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 327 

is your law which says the mean, the low degraded, 
shall be deprived of the right of petition? Petition, 
is supplication, entreaty, Prayer. Where is the de- 
gree of vice or immorality which shall deprive the 
citizen of the right to supplicate for a boon or pray 
for mercy? Where is such a law to be found? It 
does not belong to the most abject despotism. There 
is no absolute monarch on earth, who is not com- 
pelled by the constitution of his country, to receive 
the petitions of his people whosoever they may be. 
The Sultan of Turkey cannot walk the streets and 
refuse to receive the petitions from the meanest and 
vilest in the land. The right of petition belongs to 
all; and, so far from refusing to present a petition 
because in the estimation of some it might come 
from those low in their opinions ; it would be an 
additional incentive if such was wanting". There 
never was perhaps a fiercer battle fought in legisla- 
tive halls, than Mr. Adams waged for a score of 
years in Congress, with the partisans of slavery. 
In every encounter he came off Victor, 

In the summer of 1843, Mr. Adams took a tour 
through Western New York. His journey was a 
perfect ovation. In all the leading cities, he was re- 
ceived with the highest marks of consideration. 
The whole mass of the people rose to confer honor 
upon the man who had battled so nobly for human 
rights, and whose private character was without a 
stain. The greeting which he received at Buffalo 
was such as that city had never before conferred 
upon any man. The National flag floated from 
every masthead. The streets were thronged with 
the multitude, who greeted with bursts of applause 
the renowned patriot and statesman, as soon as he 
appeared. The Hon. Millard Fillmore, subse- 
quently President of the United States, welcomed 
him in the following words. — You see here assem- 
bled the people of our infant city, without distinc- 



328 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

tion of party, sex, age or condition — all, all, anx- 
iously vying with each other to show their respect 
and esteem for your public and private worth. Here 
are gathered, in this vast multitude of what must 
appear to you strange faces, thousands of whose 
hearts have vibrated to the chord of sympathy 
which your speeches have touched. Here is reflect- 
ing age, and ardent youth, and lisping childhood, to 
all of whom your venerated name is dear as house- 
hold words, — all anxious to feast their eyes by a 
sight of that extraordinary and venerable man, that 
old man eloquent, upon whose lips of ' 'Wisdom' ' 
has distilled her choicest nectar. Here you see 
them all, and read in their eager and joy gladdened 
countenances, and brightly beaming eyes, a wel- 
come, thrice-told, heartfelt, soul-stirring welcome, 
to the man they delight to honor. It has been said 
of President Adams, that when body was bent, and 
his hair silvered by the lapse of four score years, 
yielding to the faith of a little child, he was accus- 
tomed to repeat every night, before he slept the 
prayer his mother taught him in his infant years. 

"Now I lay me down to sleep, 
I pray the Lord my soul to keep; 
If I should die before I wake, 
I pray the Lord my soul to keep ; 

On the 21st of February, 1848, he rose on the 
floor of Congress with a paper in his hand to ad- 
dress the speaker. Suddenly he fell stricken with 
paralysis and was caught in the arms of those 
around him. For a time he was senseless. With 
reviving consciousness, he opened his eyes, looked 
calmly around, and said: "this is the end of earth". 
Then after a moments pause, he added: "I am con- 
tent". These were his last words. His family 
summoned to his side in the apartment of the 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 329 

speaker of the house, beneath the dome of the 
Capitol, the theatre of his labors and triumphs — he 
soon breathed his last. The voices of denunciation 
were now hushed, and all parties united in tributes 
of honor to one of the purest patriots and one of the 
most distinguished statesmen America has pro- 
duced. 



A NEW BALLOT BOX. 
August, 1905. 

The One Which Was Given a Practical Test 
Yesterday Proved to be a Success. 

The deserted police headquarters in City Hall 
was the scene of much excitement and bustle yester- 
day. As early as 7 o'clock A. M. the crowd com- 
menced to gather and at least 10,000 sightseers and 
curious individuals thronged the chamber. The 
cause of the crowd was that J. B. Corey's patent 
voting machine was to be tried. To test the ma- 
chine the new charter was selected, to vote for or 
against. In each of the three booths were placed 
two of Mr. Corey's machines, one labeled "For the 
charter", the other one "Against the charter". 

The booths were erected on the Smithfield 
street side of the room and a regular election board 
engaged. The routine is very similar to the old, 
way. The voter went to the clerk, gave his name, 
address and ward, and the clerk handed him a rub- 
ber stamp, on which his register numbei was ; he- 
took this to the booth, stamped his number on the 
endless slip of paper, pushed the button and his vote 
was recorded. He then returned the stamp to the 
clerk, who by an automatic device sets the machine 
for the next voter. The advantages of the machine 



330 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

are manifold. It renders i 'padding' ' impossible, as 
but one vote can be cast and then it locks and re- 
mains so until the stamp is returned to the clerk, 
and it does away with the counting of votes, and 
saves time and labor. 

The opinions of all who tried it were that it was 
the greatest thing that they ever saw for voting 
Judge "Boley" Mullen was an early visitor. He 
came in at 9 and stayed around all day. He refused 
to try the scheme, but watched intently and interest- 
edly the way "to do it". Ajax Jones came in smil- 
ing and asked to "be shown the dark secrets", and 
said he "wanted to vote against the charter". When 
he had voted he said: "That's the greatest ever 
happened". Philip Flinn was next. He did not 
linger long, but voted and disappeared. Eobert 
McGonnigle was the next man to push the button* 
He watched the system for an hour. Coroner Mc- 
Dowell followed and was greatly pleased with it, 
and told Mr. Corey it was the best thing he ever saw. 
Ex-Comptroller Morrow and County Commissioner 
J. C. Mercer came next. "Cyclone" Kirkland came 
next. P. W. Seibert, County Clerk, one of the best- 
posted men in politics in the city, expressed him* 
self, saving that "it is something fine". Many 
other equally prominent men are of the opinion 
that it surpassed the Baker ballot in every possible 
way. 

At noon a crowd of 39 colored drivers from 
Booth & Flinn 's came in, and for a time things went 
at a lively pace. Owing to the time involved in ex- 
plaining the method over 5,000 persons were unable 
to vote. The total number of votes cast was 680 — 

331 "for the charter" and 349 "against", a major- 
ity of 18 for the anti-charter faction. 

The machine used yesterday is a small box two 
inches wide, six inches high and three inches deep. 
The mechanical apparatus is very simple. It con- 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 331 

sists of a roll of paper that rolls on three wooden 
rollers. The paper is one inch wide and is visible 
on the face of the box. The name of the candidate 
and his picture are placed below this. When the 
voter stamps his number on the paper he pushes the 
button and the number disappears, registers and 
locks itself. The machine cannot be used again 
until unlocked by the clerk, which is done by means 
of a switch. The machine is in a crude state, but 
demonstrated yesterday that it would do what was 
wanted of it. Improvement will be made at once. 
Great labor-saving and rapidity is shown in taking 
the results, only five minutes being necessary to ob- 
tain the entire county. The paper is cut and on the 
opposite side is the registered votes, showing exactly 
what has been polled. When there is more than 
one candidate there will be a box for each one, and 
one can cut or split his ticket as he chooses. The 
boxes that will be used later on will not be any 
larger than a silver dollar. At a Presidential elec- 
tion 200 registers will be used, providing the Corey 
ballot is adopted, that number being necessary to 
make all combinations. 



332 Memoik and Personal Becollection. 



THE COREY BIBLE. 

A Priceless Heirloom Handed Down Through 

Nine Generations. 

It is yellow with age, but still held firmly to- 
gether by strong calf skin binding. The book, which 
is an almost priceless heirloom in the family and has 
passed down through nine generations, is now the 
property of James E. Corey of Pennsylvania, who< 
at the recent reunion was re-elected President of the 
Corey organization. 

The " Great Bible' ' has a remarkable history, 
and it is only within the last few years that the 
present owner succeeded in locating the book after 
he had for ten years conducted a search for it. 
James E. Corey learned of the existence of the his- 
toric volume through the mention of the book in 
some of the old family wills. It was found in the 
possession of the late Mrs. Hannah Bartram Corey, 
who afterward willed it to her son, William Smith 
Corey, with whom she lived until her death, at the 
age of 98 years in December, 1903. She died in the 
house built by her husband, Elnathan Corey, in 
1833. James Corey obtained the book from W. H. 
Corey. The history of the book has been traced 
back as far as 1611, when the family records show 
that John Corey's mother gave the Bible to her son 
as she wished him godspeed when he left his home 
in Scotland to try his fortune in America. John 
Corey landed at or near Boston soon after the com- 
ing of the Mayflower. 

For a while he lived at New London, Conn., 
where he was married. He afterwards crossed 
Long Island Sound and for a short time lived at 
Southampton, where the records show that on 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 333 

March 7, 1644, he was Whale Commissioner for the 
district of Southampton. He died at Hash- 
amomack, L. I., in 1665, leaving four sons and two 
daughters. Two brothers and two cousins came 
from Scotland to America before the death of John 
Corey, and Giles Corey, the martyr to witchcraft, 
who was executed at Salem, September 1, 1692, at 
the age of 77 years, was either a brother or a cousin 
of John Corey. 

When John Corey died he willed the Bible to 
his son Elnathan. Thus the book has been handed 
down through nine generations and bids fair to re- 
main a family heirloom for many years to come. It 
has about 500 leaves of English parchment of pages 
8x12 and it is printed in old English type in the 
spelling of that age. It was published in 1603. 



CORRESPONDENCE WITH GENERAL 
GRANT. 

I saw in the paper that there was a great deal 
of sickness in General Grant's army lying camped 
at Cairo. Our company had laid in quite a large 
number of empty boats before the secession of the 
South. These boats were an expense to take care 
of and we had no use for them. I conceived the 
idea that if I could induce Grant to use them, they 
could be fitted up into much healthier quarters for 
our soldiers as a preventative of disease from camp- 
ing on the low, wet grounds which the river over- 
flowed, and would prove a great benefit for our sol- 
diers. I wrote General Grant suggesting that he 
have the Government buy them, side them up and 
make a fighting flotilla to be towed wherever needed. 
General Grant's chief of staff answered my letter, 
saying that the General instructed him to thank me 



334 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

for my interest in the army, saying my suggestion 
would receive his consideration. I never heard of 
them being acted upon, although I feel sure they 
would have made fully as secure quarters, much 
healthier and cheaper than tents, and would have 
enabled him to transfer his army quicker from one 
point to another. 



CORRESPONDENCE WITH PRESIDENT 
LINCOLN. 

My next attempt to dictate to our public officials 
was a letter to President Lincoln advising that 
Grant be placed at the head of all armies. Instead 
of allowing General Lee to first defeat one of our 
armies and then detach his veterans to defeat an- 
other, all should be placed under command of one 
man, and when an engagement was ordered let it be 
made along the whole line, etc. I had before me a 
map published at the time by the New York Tribune, 
showing the positions of the contending armies, and 
constructed my letter of advice from the basis as 
shown on the map. This letter was written next 
day, if I remember right. After Grant had taken 
Vicksburg I received a formal reply from Lincoln's 
Private Secretary acknowledging the receipt of my 
letter, thanking me for my suggestions, etc. 



Memoik and Personal Recollection. , 335 



J. B. Corey, Candidate for Governor of Pennsyl- 
vania, on His Platform of Reducing Public 
Officials Salaries — Candidate of the 
National Party. 

The platform of the National Party, as adopted 
in mass convention at Braddock, September 1, is as 
follows : 

Resolved, That we look with grave apprehen- 
sion upon the strides which an official aristocracy 
has made upon our republican system of govern- 
ment of late years, by which our millionaire Con- 
gressmen, United States Senators and representa- 
itves of powerful corporations and trusts are colon- 
izing at the capital of the nation, building costly 
residences and establishing an aristocratic style of 
living contrary to the principles of our democratic 
institutions and exceeding in cost the salaries of our 
representatives and public officials, and which can 
only be maintained by accepting bribes, voting 
themselves perquisites, as is done, or by increasing 
their salaries far in excess of what the same service 
will command outside of public office. 

Resolved, That the evils of party spirit have re- 
sulted in fastening upon our civil government the 
very worst type of an official aristocracy, in which 
nepotism in its most degrading form is practiced by 
our political bosses, who dominate our public offices, 
use franchises of the people as their own personal 
assets, bequeath from father to son as their lateral 
inheritance our highest public offices, and fill the 
municipal, State and national offices with the mem- 
bers of their own families and relatives or "ward 
heelers , \ 

Resolved, That in order to do this, we must 
unite and concentrate all the forces of the wage- 



336 Memoie and Peksonal Recollection. 

earners and producers against the tax-eaters and 
non-producers, and in order to more effectually ac- 
complish this purpose, we recommend that the Na- 
tional Party, instead of setting up candidates, shall 
unite when it is possible, upon a candidate or candi- 
dates, of any party who will pledge themselves to 
vote for the reduction of the exorbitant salaries and 
the reduction of the number of public officials; to 
abolish all sinecures and offices known as political 
reward offices ; to reduce the number of Representa- 
tives in Congress and State Legislature; to amend 
the Constitution to limit the Presidency to one 
term ; provide for the election of United States Sen- 
ators by the people and such other amendments to 
our States and National constitutions and laws as 
will eradicate all these abuses and protect the civil 
government of the American people from avaricious 
political adventurers, for which we appeal to the 
American people and to the benedictions of Him, 
whose grace the father of our country invoked upon 
his children. 



Memoik and Peksonal Recollection. 337 



Was Abraham Lincoln a Spiritualist? 

A few days since J. B. Corey, a coal operator of 
this city, received a letter from a Philadelphia pub- 
lisher, asking him if it were true that he was pres- 
ent with Abraham Lincoln at a spiritual seance held 
in Washington City in 1862, just before the emanci- 
pation proclamation was issued. The writer said 
he had been informed that Mr. Corey had heard Lin- 
coln give expression to a positive belief in spiritual- 
ism, and wanted him to affirm or deny the statement. 
Mr. Corey was surprised upon receiving the letter, 
but sent back the following breezy reply : 

His request is that it be published in the new 
work on spiritualism shortly to be published. The 
letter is as follows: 

i i I am exceedingly glad to be able to aid you in 
your express desire 'that your book will contain no 
statement incapable of complete verification', and 
also of volunteering one or two rules or principles 
that, in my humble judgment, will prevent the inser- 
tions of any other statements incapable of complete 
verification, and of detecting any false statements, 
or facts or doctrine, that may have already crept 
into it. 

In the first place allow me to state I was never 
present at a spiritual seance in my life, neither at 
Washington City or elsewhere, and consequently 
was not present at this and did not hear President 
Lincoln give expression to a belief in spiritualism, 
and nothing could be more annoying to me than to 
be quoted in support of such a gross falsehood and 
slander upon the name of our martyr President. 

The attempt to propagate and gain credence to 
any system of belief by such a dubious manner as 
your letter to me implies is, in itself, to a man ot 



338 Memoik and Peesonal Recollection. 

ordinary intelligence, enough to stamp it as a false- 
hood unworthy of credence by any sane person. 
This would render any further reply unnecessary, 
but as this is an age 'When evil men and seducers 
are waxing worse and worse, deceiving and being 
deceived ', you will permit me to give you one or two 
infallible rules by which all such false doctrines or 
systems may be known and detected, in attempting 
to palm off their falsehoods upon the credulity of 
men. First, truth, like pure gold, has in itself the 
inherent virtue of truth and does not need, require, 
nor ever resort to any such dubious ways to gain 
credence, or establish its claims upon the confidence 
of mankind, and never resorts to a medium so sus- 
pectible of imposition and fraud. A moment's re- 
flection should convince you how very unreliable 
your proof, or evidence, of President Lincoln hav- 
ing expressed his belief in spiritualism would be. 
Your mode of gathering evidence bears on its face 
a lack of good intentions or good judgment. 

From your letter I infer someone, possibly your 
mediumistic authors, has informed you I was a 
negro servant of Abraham Lincoln's, and that 
would be one way of accounting for the confidential 
relations between him and myself, by which I would 
be privileged to attend a seance with the President. 
Now you will see what a temptation to falsehood, in 
order to gain public notoriety, this is. It is taking 
advantage of a well-known trait or weakness of our 
human nature, that of securing confidence by claim- 
ing intimate relations and acquaintance with the 
great and noble of the earth, especially with the 
dead heroes of the past, which we see so many poli- 
ticians and newspaper men are claiming to have had 
with Abraham Lincoln. This trait with the colored 
portion of our people is especially strong. I do not 
know that as a race it is more prominent with the 
negro than with the white race. Their degrada- 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 339 

tion by slavery naturally causes them to desire to 
push themselves forward; and what an opportunity 
to a colored man to attain that end does your ques- 
tion afford, 'Were you present at a seance in 1862 
with Abraham Lincoln, just before the emancipa- 
tion proclamation was signed? If he was to answer 
yes, who could contradict him or say he was not? If 
the person intent on propagating such a false state- 
ment says he was present, who could contradict 
him? Don't you see how easy of imposition and 
how unreliable such evidence would be. Another 
means so very popular with every false system is 
that of claiming as its patrons the great men and 
the great majority of mankind for its adherents. 
Truth never was popular, never requires or seldom 
has the support of the great and noble, much less the 
mass of mankind on its side. Truth has always had 
to compel recognition to its claims against the very 
class upon which error rests its claim. There was 
never any false system or doctrine attempted to be 
palmed off on mankind that would not herald the ad- 
herence of the great men of the earth who were its 
patrons. Freemasonry — 'That great banter upon 
the intelligence of the nineteenth century and the 
twin sister of spiritualism which promulgates its 
superior virtues in the dark (proving the declara- 
tion of Him who said, 'Men love darkness rather 
than light, because their deeds are evil) has had for 
years a kind of special privilege to this manner of 
establishing its superior virtues by claiming all the 
wise and noble of the earth ; claiming King Solomon 
as its first Grand Master and George Washington as 
being one of its first Master Masons in the United 
States. This is such a very unreliable evidence of 
superiority that truth could never rely on it. George 
Washington could not tell a lie, yet he cut a cherry 
tree with his little hatchet, and in his nonage he may 
have been inveigled into joining a Free Mason 



340 Memoie and Peksonal Recollection. 

lodge. If so, in his maturer years he said he had not 
been inside of a lodge for 33 years. Solomon in all 
his glory was not arrayed as beautiful as some of 
God's little flowers of truth, and besides, the Mor- 
mons claimed Solomon in support of the polyg- 
amous marriages. That witchcraft and spiritual- 
ism, one of the last of the ' isms ', vomited from the 
pit, should resort to this very popular way of 
spreading its falsehoods is not surprising when we 
see the dead back-slidden churches resorting to the 
same superstitious means of keeping alive their 
dead corpses. Why, if you had attended the 
Ecumenical Council of Methodists held at Washing- 
ton City and heard their elegant perorations on 
John Wesley, and heard them read the Scripture 
lesson from the old Bible used at Epworth Chapel, 
you would have got the idea they were all dead in 
love with his doctrine and discipline. And yet, were 
Mr. Wesley to arise from the dead and insist upon 
the same general rules which he said were taught 
in God's word and written upon every scripturally 
awakened heart, there is not a church in England or 
the United States of the popular Methodist denomi- 
nation that would tolerate him any more than the 
Episcopal Church did when he was upon the earth? 
' The fathers stoned and killed the prophets and 
their children build them sepulchers and monu- 
ments \ Sitting on a chair made from the wood of 
John Wesley house is a more popular religion 
than the holy thing he insisted upon. 

Our boodler legislators frequently resort to this 
same means of raiding the public Treasury. They 
have been known to resurrect men that had been 
dead a quarter of a century to find an excuse to loot 
the State Treasury. So you see how very easy this 
plan you have resorted to can be used to establish 
any false doctrine or system. Truth never requires 
or never resorts to such dubious means. My ac- 



Memoir and Personal Eecollection. 341 

quaintance with and knowledge of Abraham Lincoln 
leads me to believe he never gave any such expres- 
sion in favor of spiritualism. My acquaintance with 
him was only that of most citizens, from reading of 
his great deeds. I had the pleasure of seeing and 
hearing him speak from the balcony of the Monon- 
gahela House, Pittsburgh, when he was on his way 
to be inaugurated as President of the United States. 
In the years of 1861 and 1862 I frequently saw and 
heard him make public speeches, and I never saw or 
heard of anything that would indicate such a weak- 
ness as this spiritual seance would indicate in the 
character of this great and good man. I believe it is 
a fake. I also take advantage of this to me provi- 
dential opportunity of bearing testimony to my be- 
lief that this story and the means of propagating it 
bears the same earmarks that all false systems, re- 
ligious or political, that have cursed our poor fallen 
humanity, bear. Hoping you will give it a place in 
your book as an antidote to this last diabolism and 
superstition, I am, dear sir, 

Yours very truly, 

J. B. Cobby". 



342 Memoik and Peksonal Recollection. 



TO HON. JOHN HAY ON SALAEY GRAB ACT. 

Hon. John Hay, 

Secretary of State, U. S. A., 
Washington City, D. C. 

Dear Sir — Reading your recent speech attack- 
ing the record of the Democratic party in general 
and the platform principles of candidate Alton B. 
Parker in particular several thoughts were awak- 
ened in my mind, among which was my first ac- 
quaintance with you as Private Secretary of Presi- 
dent Lincoln ; in a letter I received to one I wrote 
President Lincoln from Louisville, Ky., on my way 
home from New Orleans. November 25, 1860, in 
which I urged Mr. Lincoln to tender the Hon. Alex- 
ander Stevens of Georgia the position of Secretary 
of War in his Cabinet. Then again I stood by the 
side of you and the President, as Mr. Lincoln, from 
the balcony of the Monongahela House, addressed 
the people of Pittsburgh on his way to Washington 
City. I remember you again seated at your desk in 
the White House the afternoon that Secretary W. H. 
Seward introduced me to Mr. Lincoln after I had en- 
tered the Government service in the Commissary. 
Department at the foot of G street, Washington 
City. I saw you frequently during the first three 
months of the Civil War, and also from reading 
the records of the different Republican Presidents 
that have occupied the White House. I am reminded 
that with the exception of the two terms of Grover 
Cleveland you have held one office or another since 
1861, a continuous pull upon the- United States 
Treasury for nearly forty years, a longer period 
than the average life of a man on this earth. The 
reading of your speech charging upon the Demo- 
cratic party and their administration of our Na- 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 343 

tional Government all ills that have befallen us as a 
nation, and claiming for the Republican party credit 
for all the good that has come to us as a nation, I 
felt that if anyone understood our politics, the acts 
of Congress, the administration of the various 
Presidents, the cost of our general Government, 
along with the sources of our revenue whence they 
are derived, and who paid them, you ought to. There 
being some things in your speech I cannot reconcile 
with my own personal observation and recollection, 
and views of the relations and obligations which our 
political parties and public officials and private citi^ 
zens sustain to each other, I thought I would formu- 
late several questions, and propound the same to 
you to answer. This, in view of the importance of 
the impending campaign and the great interest in^ 
volved, you will see is pertinent, and demand an an- 
swer at your hand as a public servant. The burden 
of your speech charges upon the Democratic party, 
all the ills that the American people have expe- 
rienced, and claims for the Republican party credit 
for all good that has come to us as a nation. I am 
aware that politicians of both parties claim the 
privilege to indulge more or less, in demagogy in 
time of a political campaign, but then I think the 
people have a right to expect a higher standard of 
official rectitude on the part of our public officials in 
the administration of our Civil Government. But 
as corrupt abuse and extravagance in the adminis- 
tration of our national public Government, involv- 
ing the increased cost of same, is charged against 
the Republican party, and denied by you. Here are 
my questions : 

First — Was it a Democratic Congress that 
passed the back-pay steal act in 1873, which so 
greatly aroused the American people? 

Second — Was it a Democratic Congress and 
Democratic President that passed and signed the in- 



344 Memoik and Personal Recollection. 

famous salary grab act of 1873, doubling up all the 
salaries of our public officials that caused the people 
to repudiate U. S. Grant's Administration? 

Third — Did not these corrupt acts of a Republi- 
can Congress and President arouse the indignation 
of the people to such an extent that Samuel J. Til- 
den was elected, but was counted out, and was fol- 
lowed by the election of Grover Cleveland, and a 
Democratic Congress, who failed to redeem their 
promise to the people to repeal the infamous salary 
grab act? The American people thrust out of office 
the Democratic party and restored the Republican 
party to the control of our National Government on 
the assurance that honesty should characterize the 
administration of our public affairs. 

Fourth — Did not President Harrison attempt 
to make good and redeem these pledges of the Re- 
publican party, and did not the corrupt political 
bosses in control of the Republican party and in Con- 
gress turn in and crush President Harrison, defeat- 
ing him for a second term? 

Fifth — Did not the passage of that infamous 
salary grab act inaugurate an era of political cor- 
ruption which has resulted in the prostitution of all 
our municipal, State and national public offices to 
the avarice and greed of political bosses who regard 
our public offices and public franchises as their own 
legitimate spoils, to be divided up between them and 
their henchmen, as the assets of corporations divide 
the profits of their business among their various 
stockholders, and is not this corrupt condition of 
our public affairs attributable to and the natural 
effect and result of that infamous salary grab act 
by the Republican party in control of our National 
Government in 1873? 

Seventh — If these statements are true, does it 
not account for the unseemly and undignified con- 
duct of the highest public officials, who are drawing 



Memoie and Personal Recollection. 345 

big salaries out of the United States Treasury for 
services to be rendered to all the American people, 
said Treasury belonging alike to Democrats, Repub- 
licans and Prohibitionists and Populists, all having 
an equal interest in the services of the high-salaried 
officials. But to such an extent has the corrupting 
influence of this corrupt abuse grown since the pas- 
sage of the salary grab act that we see men who for 
nearly half a century have had their hands in the 
public Treasury up to their armpits, leave their 
desks and the duties which they are paid to perform,, 
and go off on an electioneering tour in the interest 
of a brother public official, who himself from time 
immorial has had his pull upon the public Treasury, 
forgetting that the people, his real masters, are en- 
titled to his services. 

Now, dear Mr. Hay, if you will answer one of 
the people the foregoing questions and oblige, 

Yours truly, 

J. B. Corey. 



P. S. — I am an old Republican, who helped to 
organize the party in our city in 1856, voted with it 
until passage of the infamous salary-grab act, since 
then for Prohibition party, except for President 
Harrison's second term. 



346 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 



TO PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT ON EXTRA 

SESSION OF CONGRESS ON NATIONAL 

CURRENCY. 

"To His Excellency Theodore Roosevelt, Oyster 

Bay, N. Y., 

My Dear Sir : — It is reported and going rounds 
of public press that you propose to call an extra ses- 
sion of Congress to tinker with our national cur- 
rency in order to afford relief to Wall street stock 
gamblers and multi-millionaire adventurers, whose 
artistic printed certificates of stocks and bonds fill 
our national bank vaults, and which have brought on 
the present panic. 

As an American citizen, feeling a deep interest 
and pride in the good name of the American people 
and honor of our national Government, I sincerely 
hope that the dignity and honor of our national Gov- 
ernment, the good name of the American people, as 
well as the success of your own administration, will 
cause you to refuse to commit such a grave mistake 
as that of calling an extra session of Congress will 
be. 

If you will stop and consider for one moment 
you will find it a fact that the majority of the men 
composing our national Congress are as mentally 
unfit to legislate upon a financial or currency meas- 
ure as they are morally incapable of resisting the 
temptation to fall victims to Wall stock gamblers 
and adventurers. It is a well-established fact that 
the political and business interests of the American 
people are never so safe and free from disturbance 
as they are when Congress is not in session. 

As an encouragement and incentive to resist the 
pressure of these Wall street gamblers and stock 
brokers allow me to call your attention to the patri- 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 347 

otic stand of one of your illustrious predecessors, 
General Andrew Jackson, the hero of New Orleans, 
who made his own name famous and immortal with 
'By the Eternal, I will veto the United States bank 
bill'. 

While I do not approve of his profane use of 
the sacred name of Jehovah, I do admit his courage- 
ous patriotism as President of the United States in 
withstanding the gamblers and speculators of his 
day, which resulted in a greater good to the Ameri- 
can people than did his victorious defense of the 
city of New Orleans. May we not hope that Presi- 
dent Theodore Eoosevelt will not be less courage- 
ously patriotic in 1903 and that no such travesty 
upon truth, righteousness and justice will be perpe- 
trated upon the good name of the American people 
and dignity and honor of our national Government 
as that of allowing it to be used to bolster up Wall 
street gamblers and stock brokers. I am, dear sir, 
with respect, sincerely yours, 

J. B. Corey". 

P. S. — I hope you will allow cause and effect to 
work out a cure without Governmental interference, 
that must in the end work greater hurt to the mass 
of American people. The fever is a congestion and 
needs aperients instead of stimulants in the shape 
of Government promises to pay. Let the debtors 
alone in their folly, and do not blind them to the 
price due therefor. 

J. B. C. 



348 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 



Controversy Over a Word — J. B. Corey Reproves 
United States Senator Nelson for Loss of 
Temper — Latter Replies at Length — 
Local Philosopher Then Takes 
Opposition View and Advises 
Various Legislative Re- 
forms — Discusses the 
Tariff Issue. 

One little word has caused a letter contro- 
versy of national interest to arise between J. B. 
Corey of Braddock and United States Senator 
Knute Nelson of Minnesota. While landing the 
work of the inhabitants of Alaska and urging that 
the Government take steps to better their condition, 
the Senator said: "All this they have done, Mr. 
President, and in return we have not done a d — n 
thing for them". The laughter and embarrassment 
which followed in the Senate chamber spread 
throughout the country. Mr. Corey, who has known 
the Senator for some time, read of the remark and 
wrote the following letter to Senator Nelson : 

Pittsburgh, April 19, 1904. 
Hon. Knute Nelson, Senate Chamber, 

Washington, D. C. 

My Dear Sir: — You must be careful and not 
lose your temper. You will remember that he who 
controls his own temper is greater than he who 
takes the city. 

I thought I had given you a better example the 
day you got me into holts with Ignatius Donnelly 
and the lot of long-haired cranks and short-haired 
women the day you insisted I should make a speech 
at the anti-trust convention in Chicago, 1893, of 
which you was president. Surely you did not have 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 349 

as crazy a set of lunatics like the lot I had to con- 
tend with that day, and yet I did not use any cuss 
words, even though you did lose the head of your 
nice mallet made from the wood of that old ship of 
Commodore Perry's that fought against the Eng- 
lish Navy in 1812. I have been aware from the pub- 
lished reports of the United States Senate that the 
proceedings in that dignified body frequently do not 
arise above the ordinary political meeting round the 
country taverns, but then our humble Senators 
should not lose their tempers. 

I have been one of your admirers ever since the 
tilt we had with Donnelly and his crowd of fanatics. 
I am, dear sir, 

Very truly yours, 

J. B. Corey. 



Senator Nelson's Reply. 

Washington, D. C, April 21. 
Mr. J. B. Corey, 
Pittsburgh, Pa. 

My Dear Mr. Corey: — I thank you very much 
for your kind letter of admonition of the 19th, and 
for again calling my attention to that anti-trust con- 
vention which we held years ago in Chicago. By 
the way, that ' anti-trust issue is as much alive today 
as it was and will not down. You and I will never 
know how many thousands of poor people have 
been 'fleeced by investing in the inflated stocks of the 
large trusts. Carnegie sold his plant — which, I be- 
lieve, he had offered to Frick or someone else for 
$100,000,000— to the steel trust for $300,000,000. He 
has been careful to take his pay in first mortgage 
bonds, but the poor fellows who were deluded into 
buying the common stock of the steel trust have lost 



350 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

all their savings. Even the holders I of the second 
mortgage bonds have been badly squeezed. I was a 
member of a sub-committee which visited Alaska 
last summer' and am greatly interested in that coun- 
try. It has been sadly neglected by our Govern- 
ment. It is a country of vast resources and all it 
needs is a little help and encouragement ot make it 
among our most valuable possessions. There is no 
end of placer gold mines. The only difficulty is to 
get to them, for there is an entire absence of trans- 
portation facilities; neither railroad nor wagon 
roads; simply trails of "cow" paths which the 
miners have constructed and over which they have 
to pack their supplies and everything they need, 
either on horseback or on their own backs. I hope 
we will soon awake to the real situation and do 
something for that country. With kind regards, I 
remain, 

Yours truly, 

Knute Nelson. 



A Reply by Mr. Corey. 

Pittsburgh, April 23, 1904. 
Hon. Knute Nelson, 

Washington, D. C. 

My Dear Sir : — Your letter of the 21st and copy 
of Congressional Record in reply to mine of the 
19th inst, came duly to hand. You will please ac- 
sept my thanks for your kind consideration in af- 
fording me the pleasure of reading your views on 
the trust question, as also on the Alaska question. 
I appreciate the goodness of your heart which leads 
you to sympathize with victims of the stock gamb- 
lers, as also your desire to aid the people of Alaska 
in developing the great resources of their country, 
but I confess I am unable to reach the same conclu- 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 351 

sions you arrive at in either case. It strikes me, in 
the face of the statements in your letter, in which 
you name Mr. Carnegie 's selling out his steel inter- 
ests at $300,000,000, which he had previously of- 
fered to Frick at $100,000,000, that neither National 
nor State paternal legislation is going to cure the 
evils you complain of. In my humble judgment the 
effect of which you speak is the only possible and 
natural result of State and National Government 
paternalism. 

Urges Repeal of Tariff. 

If I were in the United States Senate and 
wanted to render a real service to the industrial 
classes and the poor ignorant masses whose haste 
and anxiety to get rich quickly makes them the easy 
victims of the stock gamblers who have been fleec- 
ing them I would urge the repeal of the tariff and 
all other forms of National Government paternal- 
ism. Also the repeal of the infamous salary grab 
act of 1873, which inaugurated an era of corruption, 
making our municipal, State and National Govern- 
ment offices the means of supporting a corrupt offi- 
cial aristocarcy, that is a thousand fold more op- 
pressive than all the trusts that have ever existed. 
Take the case of Mr. Carnegie and Frick, to which 
you refer. This was simply an instance of a man 
taking an advantage of his experience, judgment 
and superior knowledge of the state and condition 
of business, by which he acquired all the steel works 
in the locality when the holders were only too anx- 
ious to sell and nobody else had the courage to buy 
them, and when the advance in the product of these 
works caused everybody in haste to get rich to want 
to buy them. Mr. Carnegie sold out at the advance 
which you name. 

As a matter of course, some of his partners, on 
seeing that Mr. Carnegie's foresight and business 



352 Memoik and Personal Eecollection. 

sagacity exceeded theirs, were envious and ready to 
find fault with him, but we who have witnessed Mr. 
Carnegie 's unprecedented success, by which, from a 
poor boy he has risen to that of a multi-millionaire 
and also witnessed his generous disposition of his 
great wealth, are not clamoring for any National 
Government paternalism to restrain men like Mr. 
Carnegie, whose enterprises have proven such a 
blessing to our people. No, no, Mr. Nelson, if I had 
the ear of the people of Alaska I would urge them 
to rely on those rich deposits of gold, silver, lead, 
tin and coal, and if they cannot prevent Congres- 
sional committees from invading their territory 
with their paternalism in any other way, I would 
advise them to erect forts, with armed watchmen, to 
shoot the first delegation that came along. 

Suggestion for Congress. 

Why, Mr. Nelson, just stop and review the ex- 
perience of our people in the United States, with 
their fifty odd governments and their horde 
of public officials, which the industrial classes 
are compelled to support at salaries from 
ten to fifty times what the same poor people can 
earn, and you can have an idea of what the indus- 
trial people of Alaska may expect when they come 
under the paternal care of the United States Con- 
gressmen. Now, Mr. Nelson, allow me to suggest if 
Congress will repeal the present tariff laws, by which 
all this corrupt official aristocracy, composing our 
fifty-odd governments or less, thrives, and also re- 
peal the infamous salary grab act of 1873, you can 
safely adjourn and go home for ten years and allow 
the trust and anti-trust people to look out for them- 
selves. I am, dear sir, with respect, 

Your humble servant, 

J. B. Corey. 



Memoie and Personal Recollection. 353 

Letter to President Wilson on $100,000,000 
Special Internal Taxation Bill. 

His Excellency, Woodrow Wilson, 

President, of U. S. A., 

Washington City, D. C. 
My dear sir : 

Not wishing to intrude on your time or pa- 
tience; and in hope that your Excellency will con- 
descend to recognize the right of an 82 year old, 
loyal and law-abiding citizen to appeal to the Presi- 
dent of the United States ; even though you may not 
agree with his views upon a question of political 
economy. 

That which in addition to my constitutional 
right as a citizen of the United States, which incites 
the desire of an interview or exchange of opinions, 
is the reading of your appeal, or excuse for asking 
Congress, to devise ways of raising $100,000,000, by 
special internal taxation, to meet the United States 
Treasury emergency or unforseen results of the 
European war. Or in your own words : i i Gentle- 
men of the Congress, I come to you today to dis- 
charge a duty which I wish with all my heart I 
might have been spared, but it is a duty which is 
very clear, and, therefore, I perform it without 
hesitation or apology". 

This preface to your address to Congress, Mr. 
Wilson, is the best possible excuse as an American 
citizen I can, and do offer you and Congress as a 
reason why you should not increase the burden of 
taxation on our American wage earners and 
farmers who are already groaning under the burden 
of excessive taxation; many of whose families are on 
the verge of starvation. It reads very pretty and 
creates a sentimental feeling of patriotism on part 
of $7,500 a year statesman; to say to them: "The 
people of this country are intelligent and profoundly 



354 Memoik and Peksonal Recollection. 

patriotic". But Mr. Wilson, it will not provide 
bread to feed that American wage earner who has 
ten of a family to feed after there has been sweated 
out of him, $23.50 to pay the cost of our National 
Government alone. Our State and Municipal gov- 
ernments increasing it to about $50 per capita. 
Take your pencil, Mr. Wilson, and figure out where 
these intelligent wage earners are likely to get out at 
after the Landlord sweats his taxes and rent out of 
them, and butcher and storekeeper sweats his taxes 
out of them. I take it for granted, Mr. Wilson, you 
as president of the United States, you would not 
want to be suspected of indulging in sentimental 
gush. Well, Mr. Wilson, is not intelligent pro- 
found patriotism as virtuous trait with which to 
adorn the character of our statesmen and public 
officials as it is when practiced by the common peo- 
ple ? If you admit it is, I can from your own state- 
ment in your appeal to Congress, tell why you 
should not attempt to get up a panic in Congress in 
order to have them vote an increase of $100,000,000, 
special taxation on pretext of a desire to protect 
business and the National credit from being de- 
faulted. Your appeal to the fears of our $7,500 dol- 
lar a year legislators is both unwise and unpatriotic. 
To make haste slowly, Mr. Wilson, is a common 
sense maxim recognized in business, and political 
economy. 

Taking it for granted that you will admit that 
the cost of our Governments is sweated out of the 
farmers and wage earners, whose incomes according 
to statistics, is only $700 and $500 a year. Now, 
don't you see Mr. Wilson, that by applying the same 
intelligent profound patriotism to our high salaried 
public officials that you pretend to admire in the 
common people how very easy and quick you can 
remove all cause not only of a bankrupt National 
Treasury, but can wipe out the cause of the danger 



Memoik and Personal Recollection. 355 

you are in from such a state of alarm. Do you ask 
me how you can do it? I answer by repealing the 
infamous salary grab act restoring the President 
and his subordinate salaries to what the Immortal 
Abraham Lincoln and his subordinates received and 
instead, Mr. Wilson, of receiving two hundred times 
as much wages as our wage earners today receive, 
on which to support their families you will still be 
paid 50 times as much under our Democratic sys- 
tem as the wage earners are paid, many of whom 
have to work seven days a week, and you will re- 
duce the cost of our National Government to what 
it was before the infamous salary grab act of 1873 
was passed. Not only so, but you as ill Mr. Wilson, 
redeem your promise to the American people on the 
plank in your platform promising to return to that 
simplicity and economy which befits a democratic 
government, and by a reduction of the number of 
useless offices the salaries which drain the substance 
of the people. Mr. Wilson, the redeeming of plat- 
form and personal promises are as distinguishing 
a virtue upon part of the president of 100,000,000, 
people as is standing and being shot to death by 
grape and canister ball in defense of the National 
Government. 

One more question and I am done. I ask this 
question of the College President and School mas- 
ter. Is it possible, Mr. Wilson, to conceive of a 
greater burlesque on the word Democrat, or trav- 
esty on justice and decency than the sweating out 
of American wage earners whose incomes are not 
over $500 a year, $100,000 salary a year for champ- 
ion Golf Players and $25,000 a year for Chautauqua 
Blatherskites? 

This, Mr. Wilson, is the natural effect that the 
82 year old constituent returning home today after 
reading the proof sheet of his 74th year recollec- 
tions ; the first on politics attending an ox-roast in 



356 Memoik and Personal Recollection. 

the year 1840, in the middle of a river on a bar ex- 
tending along the front of the wharf at the City of 
Pittsburgh; where I heard my first political speech 
from the lips of Henry Clay, the whig candidate for 
the position yon hold. The only thing Mr. Wilson, 
that I remember was that, like an 8 year old boy I 
was glad when he finished, and I got a chance to fill 
my hungry stomach with a part of the roasted ox, 
and its accompaniments. From that day I have 
taken but little interest in political economy, bnt 
from what little I have seen, the people like the ox 
of 1840, are roasted. I know this long letter will be 
thrown in the waste basket and except the amuse- 
ment it affords me while passing the time away 
while all alone, I think I will make it the closing in- 
cident in my memoir. There is one more suggestion 
I will make ; there is a book which yon pretend to 
reverence which says: "We can do nothing against 
truth, but for the truth; and whatsoever a man 
soweth, that shall he also reap". 

Patriotically yours, 

J. B. Coeey. 

The Reply to the Above. 

Treasury Department, 
Washington, September 18, 1914. 
Mr. J. B. Corey, 

Braddock, Pennsylvania. 
Sir: 

By direction of the Secretary acknowledgment 
is made of the receipt in this Department of the 
communication which you addressed to the Presi- 
dent, relative to the subject of internal taxation ; and 
you are advised that the communication has been 
placed on file. Respectfully, 

Wm. P. Malburn, 
Assistant Secretary. 



Memoie and Personal Recollection. 357 

THE QUESTION OF EUCHRE. 

J. B. COREY'S LETTER HAS STIRRED UP AN 
INTERESTING ARGUMENT. 

He Thought it a Joke. 

One Catholic Stands up for the Position Coal 
Operator Takes. 

Waiting on the Pope. 

Considerable interesting discussion has been 
caused in religious circles lately by the letter writ- 
ten by J. B. Corey, the Braddock coal operator, and 
a leading Methodist, on the question of church 
euchres. 

The original letter of Mr. Corey was written to 
the Braddock "Herald". A copy as has been noted, 
went to Pope Leo. The letter read as follows: 

"Editor ' Herald'. — I received from the com- 
mittee, of St. Thomas' Roman Catholic societies a 
complimentary invitation to come to St. Thomas' 
hall this evening, and take part in their euchre 
party. I have no doubt but this is intended as an 
innocent joke on me on the part of the committee, 
for my well known opposition to our churches, lend- 
ing encouragement to card playing, gambling, etc., 
and for the recent article I wrote for the i Herald' 
against progressive euchre, circulating tracts, etc. 

The committee and friend McGuire, pay me 
quite a compliment in dubbing me an old fogy Meth- 
odist. They associate me with that most highly 
honored man who said it was 'A Methodist's busi- 
ness to spread abroad Scripture holiness'. If 
Friend McGuire and the committee had stopped a 
moment to consider, they would see I could not ac- 
cept their complimentary invitation, so that, while 
they were poking their fun at me, I feel highly com- 
plimented. 



358 Memoik and Personal Becollection. 

Old fogy Methodists are never found at a pro- 
gressive euchre party, and I confess I am both sorry 
and ashamed to see such a large, professed Chris- 
tian church as St. Thomas, enrolling so many of our 
citizens, and their most highly esteemed pastor, 
Father Hickey, lending their influence and school 
hall to promote the habit of card playing and gamb- 
ling among our young people a habit that has 
proved the ruin of so many young men and women. 

One would think pride in the good name and 
honor of a church that claims to be the mother 
church, to whom the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ 
and his apostles was committed, would cause its 
members to rise up en masse and condemn and re- 
volt against such a scandal and travesty on the 
cross of Christ. No, no, Mr. McGuire, I cannot ac- 
cept your complimentary invitation. I shall attend 
service this evening in a little old fogy Methodist 
chapel, where a higher standard is raised, a nobler 
testimony upheld, a purer gospel preached, a holier 
example to old and young is set, than card playing 
and gambling. 

I would as soon be seen in company with a 
Mexican priest, with a game rooster under my arm, 
on my way to a cock fight, as to be found around a 
card table in the school hall of a professed Chris- 
tian church, with backsliding Methodists, Presby- 
terians and Catholics playing progressive euchre 
for prizes. St. Paul, whom you Catholics profess 
to highly reverence, says: 'We are not of them who 
do evil that good may come, whose damnation is 
just'. That is, neither St. Peter nor St. Paul would 
engage in card playing, or gambling, to promote the 
cause of religion, in or out of the church. 

So you see, Mr. McGuire, an old fogy Methodist 
cannot consistently accept your invitation to take 
part in your euchre party ; but, as one good turn de- 
serves another, I invite you and your committee to 



Memoie and Personal Recollection. 359 

come with me this evening and attend an old fogy 
Methodist service in Wesley chapel, where they are 
trying to make saints, and not gamblers. 

You know the Catholic church has a proud rec- 
ord for making saints. You never canonize them, 
however, until after they are dead. A Catholic 
friend took me last week into St. Paul's cathedral. 
I was very much pleased with the beautiful paint- 
ings and images of saints before whom I saw devout 
Catholics bowing and paying homage ; but this text 
of the Bible came into my mind: 'Why seek ye the 
living among the dead?' 

Come with me this evening, Friend McGuire, 
and see if you and your committee will not admit 
what you see and hear is more consistent with the 
calling and dignity of a Christian church, than card 
playing or making gamblers. j B CoRBY „ 

Anent Mr. Corey's letter, the following from 
James Carrolson, also published in the "Herald", 
is also interesting: 

' ' Editor ' Herald ' : — If you will give the follow- 
ing few words space in your valuable paper you 
will accord many of your Catholic readers that fair 
play our American people demand. An article ap- 
pearing in the ' Herald' Thursday evening, October 
30, 1902, seems so strangely out of place. It seems 
some misguided Catholic sends Mr. Corey an invita- 
tion to a euchre given by a Catholic society, which 
was certainly a mistake, when this man knew Mr. 
Corey's views on card playing, which he erro- 
neously calls gambling. 

Every man has the undoubted right to his opin- 
ions. As a gentleman, Mr. Corey had the right to 
rebuke this particular Catholic, but not the faith and 
convictions of his fellow-citizens. Mr. Corey no 
doubt has allowed his prejudice to get the best of 
himself and lets go, as he truthfully says, on the 



360 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

mother church, which, like its divine founder, Jesus 
Christ, was always assailed, and reminds me of a 
cartoon appearing in a certain paper. It repre- 
sents Bismarck (who had no love for Catholics) 
working desperately trying to destroy all the Catho- 
lic churches. His Satanic majesty appears, asking 
Bismarck what he was trying to do. Bismarck re- 
plies : ' I am trying to do away with the Catholics \ 
Satan laughingly replies: 'I have been trying to do 
that for 1900 years, and am as far off as ever. ' 

I have no apology to offer for the evils of way- 
ward Catholics, as the church teaches we should of- 
fer up our prayers for their conversion. Mr. 
Corey's ideas of the saints, sacred paintings, 
images, etc., are amusing to the Catholic mind. He 
evidently has not allowed himself to become ac- 
quainted with the teachings of the church in these 
and other serious matters. 

In regard to card playing, it is a matter of in- 
dividual Catholics. Some oppose card playing per- 
haps as much as Mr. Corey, while I do not see any 
more harm in innocent card playing, for amuse- 
ment, than many of our separated brethren's so- 
cials, camp meetings, etc., which are sometimes 
abused. 'Be temperate in all things'. I am cer- 
tainly (as every true Christian should be) opposed 
to gambling, whether among the rich or poor, 
saloons and disreputable places, and especially to 
the great crying evils of the day; Divorce, legallized 
prostitution and our society, barring marriages, is 
sanctioned by some Methodist bishops. We who 
live in glass houses should not throw stones. 

This is not intended to slur any of our sep- 
arated friends, but a weak defense to an attack on 
Catholics and our holy church, which has always 
been persecuted, but relying on divine promise, 
never destroyed. 

James Carrolson. " 




• in 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 361 



AN UNUSUAL COINCIDENCE. 

Reminiscences of the past along with daily occur- 
rences CONFIRM THE INSPIRED DECLARATION 

that "God is not mocked; but 

whatsoever a man soweth, that 

shall he also reap". 

— Galations 6-7. 

On Saturday evening, July 26th, 1913, after 
having spent the day in distributing tracts over the 
hills from Port Perry to McKeesport where I spent 
my boyhood days in going to school, hunting rabbits 
and squirrels and witnessing in some localities the 
wonderous changes time has made the past 73 years 
since I was a boy, after relating to my wife some of 
the incidents of the day, we were sitting on our 
porch watching the crowds of people as they wended 
their way down to Braddock. My wife handed me 
a paper saying read the account of that young girl 
leaping from 10th street bridge, Pittsburgh, into 
the Monongahela river. Taking the paper I read 
the head line saying: "The girl must suffer and 
the man goes free" aloud. My wife said "She 
hoped the man would not go free of exposure if he is 
to blame; but that in many of these scandals like 
that, it was often as much the girl's fault as it was 
the man's and more their Fathers and Mothers 
fault than either. That little girls not yet in their 
teens were allowed to romp and parade the streets, 
until late at night, when they should be at home in 
their beds ; and they need not be surprised when a 
calamity like that falls on their home. Had they 
taken the care to see who their playmates were and 
not allow them to run at large, these sad wrecks of 
young children especially girls, would not so fre- 
quently happen as they do of late". Yes that is 
true ; but that increases the grief of the parents. 



362 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

Your observations suggest the appropriateness of 
the words on back of the envelope in which I had en- 
closed the Tracts and booklets I distributed today : 
"Fathers and Mothers; where is thy boy and girl 
tonight V and as our buggy attracted attention, 
I tossed the envelope into doors and on porches as 
we passed by. This is an unusual coincidence. I 
have been distributing tracts more or less since I 
was a boy when the first old time Methodist circuit 
rider in 1840, stopping his horse at our door 
alighted, opening his saddle bags, taking from them 
eight copies of "Baxter's Call to the Unconverted", 
he said : ' i James take these tracts and leave one at 
each house and tell them there will be Preaching at 
your house tonight.' ' No 8-year old boy ever cov- 
ered the distance between the 8 houses, (they being 
all the houses in the locality at that time), or was 
more elated than I was on seeing our neighbors 
crowd my Sainted Mother's one-story 16-foot 
square cabin to hear the first Methodist sermon ever 
preached in the locality. In distributing tracts and 
booklets since 1858, when the preacher said: "We 
will put Brother Corey to work to keep him from 
backsliding, and appointed me Superintendent of 
the Sabbath School, and a class leader announcing 
that in his absence next Sabbath I would read Wes- 
ley's sermon on the marks of the new birth". I do 
not recall of ever giving away tracts that were re- 
ceived so cordially, or the people seemed so anxious 
to receive them. Mothers, little girls coming out to 
the buggy with: "Please give me one". Gray 
headed mothers or grandmothers would beckon me 
to throw them one. I never in my life enjoyed my- 
self more than last Saturday. In addition to visit- 
ing the scenes of my childhood, was the casting of 
bread upon the waters in hopes of finding it many 
days hence, Eccl. II., I. On seeing a group of six 
young men dressed in the latest style going down 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 363 

street, my wife said: " Where do you think those 
young men are going they seem so jolly?" On see- 
ing a group of as many or more young ladies follow- 
ing after, I said: " Where are those young girls go- 
ing this late in the evening? If their fathers and 
mothers were asked: ' Where is thy boy and girl to- 
night?' Their answer likely would be I do not 
knew". I hope it may not be that of that poor out- 
cast who finding no escape from the penalty from a 
wayward life, sought rest in a watery grave. Those 
young people have started out to have some fun to- 
night, where it will end and what the result will be, 
time alone will tell. Calling to mind some of our 
young associates who for years have been moulder- 
ing in premature graves, I said: " Where are they 
tonight?" She replied: "this is a queer world". I 
replied: "young men and young girls who form 
themselves into groups and start out on a lark this 
late Saturday evening, are not likely to form habits 
that will result in their future well being. With the 
wail of that young woman who cast herself ofT the 
bridge into the river echoing in my ears, I said was 
it possible that the poor girl had reached that point 
that like David: She exclaims before taking the 
fatal leap "No man cares for my soul". I then re- 
called how on the hill above Crooked Run, a young 
man dressed up in a good suit of clothes lay along 
side of the road in a helpless drunken condition and 
yet we Christian people for a revenue to pay ex- 
pense of our civil government will license men to 
manufacture intoxicating liquor to make drunkards 
of our sons and encourage other vice as destructive 
of virtue and happiness of our daughters ? On Sab- 
bath afternoon a large stout man about 40 years old, 
dressed in what a short time ago would have been a 
respectable suit of clothes, but filthy and dirty, 
asked me for something to eat. "What", I said, "a 
young man in prime of life ; with work as plenty as 



364 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

it is today, and at good wages ; begging for some- 
thing to eat? How can you reconcile that with any 
type of manhood?" He replied: "Whiskey has 
knocked me out". "Why do you not ask the dog- 
gery keepers for something to eat?" "Oh, they got 
my money and kick me out". I said, "if I give you 
money to get something to eat you will go and spend 
it for whiskey". Our girls having taken a walk, and 
my wife is asleep, I gave the poor man something to 
get a lunch ; telling him not to spend it for drink. He 
started for Braddock whether for more booze or 
something to eat I trow not. But as I watched him 
staggering out of my yard, I said: "Is it possible 
for any man or Nation, or City, to reap any perma- 
nent good from a business that puts a man in a con- 
dition like that ? ' ' And I reached this conclusion by 
quoting these texts I have often heard quoted but 
will do to repeat with emphasis. "Woe unto him 
that coveteth an evil coyetousness to his house, that 
he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered 
from the power of evil:" "Woe to him that buildeth 
a town with blood, and establisheth a City by in- 
iquity". "Woe to him that giveth his neighbor 
drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest 
him drunken also that thou mayest look on their 
nakedness, Habukuk 2-9-12-15 & Amos 6-1". "Woe 
to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the 
Mountain of Samaria, V. 44, That lie upon beds of 
ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, 
and eat lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of 
the midst of the stall ; That chant to the sound of the 
viol, and invent themselves instruments of music, 
like David; That drink wine in bowls, and anoint 
themselves with the chief Ointments : but they are 
not aggrieved for the affliction of Joseph. When the 
Disciples asked Jesus to declare unto them the par- 
able of the tares of the field, He answered and said! 
unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son 



Memoie and Peksonal Recollection. 365 

of man ; the field is the world ; the good seed are the 
children of the kingdom ; bnt the tares are the chil- 
dren of the wicked one ; The enemy that sowed them 
is the devil. 

The harvest is the end of the world; and the 
reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are 
gathered and burned in the fire ; so shall it be in the 
end of this world". The Son of man shall send 
forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his 
kingdom all things that offend, and them which do 
iniquity : And shall cast them into a furnace of fire ; 
there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth, Then 
shall the righteousness shine forth as the sun in the 
kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, 
let him hear.' ' St. Matthew 13: 36-43. While beer 
guzzling and whiskey soaking are the Devil's most 
effective agencies in peopling the region of the lost 
yet the old serpent has many snares, by which he en- 
traps the feet of the young and unwary, and recruits 
the ranks of the legions on their way to perdition. 
These snares are dance halls, ball rooms, moving 
pictures, theaters, and card tables in the parlors of 
mistaken fathers and mothers. The admonition of 
Eev. A. L. Haywood, of Wayland, Michigan, to min- 
isters of the gospel very clearly shows one of these 
death traps of our boys and girls of today. May 
we not hope that the christian father or mother will 
read it aloud to their boys and girls. 

WHAT ABOUT DANCING? 
By Rev. A. L. Haywood. 

There was a man one time who had the moral 
courage to preach against a certain popular sin, and 
the result was it cost him his head. He won out all 
right though, for he died with a clear conscience. We 
as ministers of the gospel and as Christians in cry- 
ing out against the popular sins of the day are sure 



366 Memoir and Personal Eecollection. 

to stir up the animosity of the proud and haughty, 
who are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. 
But we are not out in search of friends, or to court 
public opinion. We cannot afford it, for our time is 
too precious. But if it costs us friends, dollars, or 
even our head, we can well afford it, if we can only 
live and die with a clear conscience. 

To my mind, one of the most popular, diabolical 
and successful plans that was ever conceived in the 
mind of any devil incarnate, to corrupt the morals 
of the youth of our land, and to degrade, debase and 
drag down the pure and innocent to shame, disgrace 
and everlasting ruin is dancing. 

I am glad I belong to a church that is not afraid 
to come out boldly and take a decided stand against 
this wicked thing. 

As for myself I would rather have a daughter 
of mine in her coffin than to see her a public dancer. 
I would hardly say, "Than to have her attend a 
dance", for some few have attended, and have had 
common sense enough to see folly, indecency, and 
wickedness of it, have been disgusted, and turned 
away, never to return again. 

According to statistics more girls have taken 
the first step on the downward road to destruction 
from the dance hall than from any other place. In 
a certain city the houses of shame were visited and 
the fallen girls were asked where they took the first 
step or what led to their downfall. Nine out of ten 
answered that the dance hall had been the cause. 

The dance hall is no place for a decent woman, 
to say nothing about a pure, innocent and refined 
young lady. Further, no young lady can attend a 
dance and take part in the round dances of today 
and go away as pure as when she went. This is the 
main thought, and in making the others, and consid- 
ering them we would like to prove it. 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 367 

1. No woman can take part in one of the dances 
to today and not be insulted. If she resents it and 
turns away, well and good ; but if she submits to it a 
work of destruction has already begun in her heart 
and life. The coming in contact with the opposite 
sex, in all the familiar touches and embraces that is 
necessary in dancing today all have a tendency to 
defile, debase and degrade the individual. 

2. There are liberties taken there that would 
not be allowed anywhere else. If I was a man of 
the world, and a so-called gentleman (say nothing 
about a foul-mouthed, beer-bloated libertine) should 
meet my wife or daughter, and attempt to put his 
arms around her, and assume the positions taken in 
dancing, I would think that about the first mission I 
had on earth was to knock that man down, and the 
next would be to kick him into the road. Then why 
is it allowed in the dance hall? 

Last of all, it is a production of hell to intoxi- 
cate the mind, bewilder the brain, and inflame the- 
baser passions of men and women. It is a trap for 
the young men, a robber of the virtue of girls, a de- 
stroyer of womanhood, and demoralizing to society. 

Were there a law passed that men must dance 
together, likewise ladies, the dance would be forever 
abolished. I heard a preacher say, (although he was 
a good preacher, he was an awfully homely man) 
that he did not believe that there was a young man 
in the country that would give fifty cents to hug him 
all night, as good looking as he was. 

After every dance that was ever held, there has 
been a jubilee in hell, while heaven has had to put on 
mourning. 

Here is a little word picture : In a humble cot- 
tage home, on a certain evening, I see first a woman 
sitting in a rocking chair, rocking to and fro, and as 
she rocks and works, she sings to herself, and seems 
to be happy. And why shouldn't she, for over there, 



368 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

fast asleep in the cradle, lies a sweet, little, babyt 
girl. As she rocks she is thinking of the future of 
her darling child, and how bright it is. 

She is going to be good, noble and pure, and as 
she pictures out a glowing future for her child that 
she loves so much and thinks how safe she is there in 
the cradle asleep she is very happy. But is she 
safe? Poor woman, she does not see those two 
slimy, shadowy forms over there in the corner with 
their fiendish eyes and hideous gestures, and they 
whisper to each other, as they point their long, bony 
fingers towards the cradle where the little babe is 
sleeping. They are sent of hell to plan the destruc- 
tion of that pure and innocent little child. Will they 
do it? Let us see. 

Time rolls on. This little child grows to be a 
beautiful young lady. Her mother is proud of her, 
and still anxious about her future. She would like 
to have her daughter go out in society, and, after 
consulting her pastor, decides to take her to the 
dance. The shadowy forms whispered to the pastor 
and said, "Tell her there is no harm in dancing", 
and then they whispered to the woman and said, 
"There can't be any harm in it or the pastor 
wouldn't advise you to go". Mother watch that 
girl, for don't you see those shadowy forms over 
there in the corner of the hall. They are watching 
you. Watch her, I say. 

"Watch her? Why, what do you mean? Is 
there any danger of her getting lost there in this 
public place?" Yes, more than in the wild forest, 
the dense thicket, or the jungles of Africa. Watch 
her, very closely. There are those here who would 
not only destroy the body, but the soul as well. Watch 
her, for that foul-breathed, unprincipled fellow that 
she is dancing with is watching you. 

Where is she, mother? Your eyes left her but 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 369 

a minute, but she is gone. Where ! God only knows, 
but she is gone, gone. 

Poor girl, unsuspecting and innocent, a prey to 
that vulture, or demon in human form, that was pos- 
ing as a gentleman, wretch that he is. He has caught 
another victim; another is destroyed. 

Mother, the only way you could have watched 
your girl and have kept her safe, would have been 
to have kept her at home. 

But where is she? She has been dancing until 
she was tired, her brain was whirling, her thoughts 
were confused, and it was suggested that they take 
a little fresh air. She trusts this man, for he seems 
like a gentleman. She might better have trusted an 
alligator, or a crocodile, or a hungry lion, to this 
human hyena, for they could destroy only the body, 
but this agent of hell would not only destroy the 
body, but wreck and ruin the soul as well. 

Perhaps it is a soft drink, or a dish of ice cream 
ordered. He winks at the waiter ; a little something 
is dropped in ; she feels a sort of dizzy, confused 
feeling, and the rest is easy. She has been robbed 
of a priceless jewel. 

For the world has a heart for a prodigal boy, 
Who was caught in sin's mad whirl, 

And they welcome him back with songs of joy, 
But what of the prodigal girl?" 

I believe that if hell has one place that is hotter 
than another it will be reserved for such cursed 
libertines as the one described. 

What of the rest? Down by the river side a 
scene. It is about midnight ; the moon is shining at 
times down through the clouds ; all seems to be quiet, 
but hark, I hear a low moan, I look around and see 
a young woman coming down the bank. She was 
once beautiful, but now pale and haggard. She 
seems to be talking to herself. She is saying, "It 



370 Memoik and Peksonal Recollection. 

will soon be all over. These waters will hide and 
bury it all. I have been so unhappy since that 
night. Oh, if I could only live my life over again 
how different it would be. But that first step down 
ruined my whole life, Oh, that I never had seen a 
dance hall, but it is too late, too late, too late ! I be- 
lieve I will end it all tonight". I see her as she 
stands leaning for a moment against the railing as 
if she would hesitate. Then she places her hand on 
the top of the railing, and looking up she moans, ' ' 
my God! forgive me, for I did not mean to do 
wrong", and with one last heart-rendering, piercing 
cry of distress, she leaps. A splash, a rushing of 
water and all is over. I look down and see those 
shadowy forms standing on the bank rubbing their 
hands with glee. They have destroyed another soul. 
But they do not stand there very long, for they must 
go in search of another victim. 

Brethren, ought we not to, as ministers of the 
gospel, sound out a warning to every mother and 
mother's daughter against the evils of dancing? 
And if in so doing we may, perchance, save some or 
even one pure, innocent girl from disgrace, degrada- 
tion and everlasting ruin, our efforts will not be in 
vain. 

Having for 60 years in season and out of season 
to the full extent of my ability in church and Sun- 
day School, with meagre mental, intellectual and 
Spiritual acquirements striven to warn our young 
boys and girls against these snares of the wicked 
one, yet through the indifference of parents I have 
witnessed with feelings of sorrow, the ruin of many 
a bright boy and girl. While on the other hand some 
of the most pleasant experiences of my four score 
years had been numerous testimonies like that of 
two sisters (Grandmothers) in a recent old time 
Methodist Love Feast, addressing me, said: "You 
are the man who 50 years ago led me and my brother 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 371 

to the altar where we were converted. My brother 
died happy", each one giving the same testimony; 
and a letter from one of the miners who worked for 
me 50 years ago, received this morning, saying: "I 
am engaged in the Slnm Mission work, trying to res- 
cue the perishing, remembering your kindness and 
learning that yon still are distributing tracts, I 
thought I would like to have some of your own com- 
posing". I assure you dear friends such testi- 
monies smooth my pathway to the grave. 



A Retrospect of the Past Century. 

In conclusion, while retrospecting my own per- 
sonal observations, knowledge and experience on 
political and religious questions, it is my own con- 
viction from all I have read, seen and studied, that 
it is not possible for any people to give stronger 
proof of the incapacity of mankind for self-govern- 
ment, or, in other words, that popular sovereignty 
as understood and propagated by the American peo- 
ple is a delusion. 

I reiterate the statement that unless the sac 
rifice of 1,000,000 of the flower of its own manhood, 
five billions of money, the devastation of the homes 
and property of our own people are the functions of 
a good government, our first century's experiment 
was a dismal failure. I also give it as my firm con- 
viction derived from my own personal observation 
and reading of the sayings and doings of the great- 
est characters and lives this nation has produced, 
along with the clearest declaration of Holy Writ, no 
other result is or was possible. To be otherwise 
would be to bring a clean thing out of an unclean. 
This our Divine instructor is impossible. In sup- 



372 Memoir and Personal Eecollection. 

port of this conviction I call attention to the state- 
ments of some of the greatest statesmen of our na- 
tion along with the history of other nationalities. I 
am aware I will be confronted right here by the 
great scientific and commercial achievements of the 
American people; but I unhesitatingly affirm that 
these things of which we are so prone to boast are 
more due to climate soil and other natural advan- 
tages than they are to our political and more 
boasted popular sovereignty. The great increase in 
crime and immorality I hold is almost as much due 
to political ideas as to the carnal unregenerate 
heart. President Andrew Jackson, with more 
frankness than the average politician, gave the key- 
note to our American manhood suffrage doctrine 
when he said, "To the victor belong the spoils' \ 
which Mayor Weaver, of Philadelphia, and Presi- 
dent Koosevelt, and his Secretary of State, Elihu 
Eoot, are uncovering, are the only possible and nat- 
ural result upon a political system resting upon the 
votes of men, who not one in ten know who or care 
what they are voting for, and in addition not one 
in a hundred but regard the public franchises and 
offices of their municipality, state and nation as 
legitimate objects of plunder. 

Benjamin Franklin, one of the ablest states- 
men and political economists this nation ever had, 
said, ' ' Whenever there was a Republican system of 
government the true principle was to reduce the 
salary, making the honor and not the spoils the in- 
centive to office seeking ". But this doctrine of our 
greatest philosopher was inconsistent with the Jack- 
sonian doctrine, "to the victor belong the spoils". 
Thus we have a $50,000-a-year President with $30,- 
000 table expenses, to preside over a nation, the vast 
number of whose industrial classes have to support 
their families on less than $500 a year, the pur- 
chasing power of whose money is destroyed 50 per 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 373 

cent in supporting this official aristocracy under the 
title of democracy. It is not possible to conceive a 
greater travesty of any political system than to call 
ours a democracy or a "Government of the people, 
by the people, for the people ' '. 

That $37,000-a-year State Treasurer, or our 
$10,000 Judges, Mayors and Governors over the 
people, with incomes of less than $500 a year, are as 
strong proof as it is possible to give of the inca- 
pacity of the people for self-government as the 100 
years of Christian civilization has ever given us. I 
remember when I, along with the common people 
looked upon our public offices and public affairs as 
sacred as our holy religion. The first political in- 
terest in which I took a part was the nomination and 
election of my friend, Judge Mellon, with whom I 
afterward became associated with in business. T 
remember when we nominated him for Judge of our 
Common Pleas Court, there were several of our 
most prominent lawyers at the bar contending for 
the office of Judge and District Attorney, at $3,500 
and $2,500. I took our company employees out to 
our township political nomination and carried the 
convention by a single vote for His Honor, Judge 
Mellon. Our township gave him the majority in the 
convention, and he received the nomination and was 
elected Judge. Judge McClure died, necessitating! 
the election of another to take his place. Here 
again, at Judge Mellon 's suggestion, I carried Ver- 
sailles township for Judge Sterrett who was elected 
over his competitor. The strongest candidate com- 
peting against Judges Mellon and Sterrett sue 
ceeded in having our political bosses create a new 
Judgeship, increasing the salary $1,500 a year, and 
this in the face of the fact that both Judges Mellon 
and Sterrett were, as they frequently told me, op- 
pressed with nothing to do. This corrupt political 
sentiment has taken such a hold upon the people 



374 Memoie and Peksonal Eecollection. 

that our public school and township offices also have 
all become the legitimate spoils of our political 
bosses and their ward heelers, who regard all our 
public offices as a means of their own personal and 
political aggrandizement. If we secured integrity 
either in public or domestic life it might be toler- 
ated, but take our religious and domestic life, and 
we have the only natural and logical results, 800,- 
000 divorces in 32 years to Canada's 49, and all 
other crime in the same proportion. This alone 
vindicates the wisdom of the Canadian people in ad- 
hering to the English monarchy, as it does also the 
wisdom of Norway in dissolving from the union 
with Sweden. Instead of setting up a republican 
system of government they have appealed to the 
Swedish people to furnish them with a Monarch or 
Prince. The Norwegians at least show their good, 
common sense in not attempting to fasten upon 
themselves a republican system, or, as in our case, 
an official aristocracy, even if they do ignore the 
good advice of one of the wisest sages of the earth, 
1 i It is better to bear the ills we have than to fly to 
others we know not of ". The present corrupt con- 
dition is due more to the influence of a partisan pub- 
lic press than all other causes, although I admit it is 
a case of "Like people, like priest' ' (or like public 
press). 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 375 



IN CONCLUSION. 

As my motive in time and expense, in compiling 
the recollection of my past life into a personal 
memoir is that my posterity and personal friends, 
may have the benefit of that which has contributed 
to my greatest good during my four score years. As 
I recall the past, that from which I received the 
greatest benefit were from reading good books espe- 
cially the Bible, which I am reading through for the 
16th time ; one chapter a day, which I read the first 
thing on arising from my bed. I also have been 
benefited from the record of good men and women 
whose noble lives adorn the history of our Chris- 
tian civilization ; along with the precepts, advice and 
example of my sainted mother ; which have given me 
the greatest assistance in my conflicts in the battle 
of life. Having already given incidents in the lives 
of men and women who began their conquest on the 
lowest plane and made a success in life ; especially, 
the testimony of one of our most illustrious Ameri- 
can statesman and distinguished patriots, against 
two of the greatest hindrances, to a young man's 
success in life; viz., oath bound secret orders, and 
lack of integrity in public office and positions of 
trust. I close by quoting an extract from the rec- 
ord of this Peerless Statesman and noblest Roman 
of them all ; as published in the life of our Presi- 
dents ; by John S. C. Abbott and Eussell H. Con- 
well ; a book that should be read by all our Young 
Men ; aspiring to state scr aft, and success in life. 

I hope that all my friends will read carefully 
the following chapters and verses of scripture: 

Christ says, "Search the Scriptures; for in 
them ye think ye have eternal life ; and they are they 
which testify of me". John V., 39. 



376 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

St. Paul, says, "All Scripture, given by in- 
spiration of God, (R. V.) is profitable for doctrine, 
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in right- 
eousness, that the man of God may be perfect thor- 
oughly furnished unto all good works", Timothy 
IL, 16, 17. 

Read first three chapters of Genesis: The ten 
commandments, Exod. XX., Job 1st Chapter, and 
XIV., 14; XIX., verses 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27. 

Psalms, Metrical Version, I., XXIII. ; XL. 1-4 ; 
and C. — Common Meter. 

Isaiah LV.; Ezekial XXXVIL, 1-14; St. 
Matthew I, 21; V. 1-12; and Luke XXIIL, 14-46. 

St. John III, 1-18, XIV., 1-16, First Epistle of 
John III., 1-15; V., VI., VII. and VIII. Chapters of 
Romans ; I. Corinthians XV. 

Heb. XII., 14; Rev. XIV., 13; Read over and 
over until fastened in your memory or write them 
down in your diary. 

These hymns will also aid in making melody in 
your heart unto the Lord. See index of hymn book. 

"0, for a thousand tongues to sing". 

"A charge to keep I have", (Marseillaise of 
Methodism) . 

"Come, ye sinners, poor and needy". 

"There is a fountain filled with blood". 

"Jesus my all to heaven is gone". 

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound". 

"Jesus, lover of my soul". 

"0, for a heart to praise my God". 

"Rock of ages, cleft for me". 



P. S. — That which has lessened the task, and 
added to the pleasure, of putting my reminiscences 
in readable shape has been the patience shown, and 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 377 

assistance given in their compilation by the Pitts- 
burgh Printing Co., Printers of this Volume. 

If any of my friends intend to publish their own 
memoir, I unhesitatingly recommend the Pittsburgh 
Printing Company to their consideration. 



Finis. 




378 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 



MAURICE RUBEN'S EXPERIENCE. 

Beloved think it not strange concerning the 
fiery trial which is to try you, as though some 
strange thing happened unto you. — I. Pet. 4 : 12. 

Dr. George D. Watson writes in one of his arti- 
cles by way of introduction: "Each one of our lives 
is a whole world of revelation when looked at in its 
relation to God and his special providence, and if 
each of our lives could be written out, as God could 
do it, it would form a Bible sufficient for the pro- 
foundest instruction of the entire race". 

The above will no doubt apply to a great num- 
ber of the children of men. Perhaps your life has 
been full of vicissitudes, of many trials, struggles, 
conflicts and battles, and surely wonderful were the 
deliverances, too. If our lives were written by the 
finger of God, by the test of the word of God, what a 
sad commentary it would prove against our disobe- 
dience, ungratefulness and unbelief, and we would 
thus furnish object-lessons for the nations, as the 
characters in the Book of books do, as well as many 
in history. This paper is to relate my experience 
in the madhouse — one of the incidents following my 
conversion. I approach the subject with much deli- 
cacy of feeling toward all who have been interested 
in that case, because I do not at all wish it under- 
stood that my motive to rehearse this experience 
thus publicly, and by relating the strange proceed- 
ing at that time, is tor the purpose of creating sym- 
pathy for myself or to cast any reflection or inflame 
any prejudice against those who were the actors in 
the case. That battle has been fought and won. If 
a lesson can be learned, a moral applied, a conclu- 
sion reached which will bring Jew and Gentile to- 
gether into the brotherhood for which Jesus Christ 
died, or if it be helpful and a source of strength to 




-J V 
or. 

O ~ 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 379 

some struggling souls who are going through deep 
waters, then it was, indeed, my great privilege to 
have endured what I did for the glory of God as a 
testimony of my unflinching faith in Jesus Christ 
my Lord and Saviour. 

My Conversion. 

My conversion came about in a sudden and rad- 
ical manner. On the 19th of March, 1895, the light 
of life flashed through my mind ; I was spiritually 
illuminated to the grasping of the spiritual facts 
that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world and 
that Satan was opposing the claims of Jesus. 

I was directed to the study of the New Testa- 
ment, and heeding the instruction of Jesus to 
" search the Scriptures ' % the Holy Spirit applied 
the words of truth from "Moses" and the "Proph- 
ets" and the "Psalms" which lifted me out of ra- 
tionalism and Judaism, and upon meeting the condi- 
tions scripturally required, viz: Repentance toward 
God and faith in Jesus Christ, I experienced con- 
version which entirely changed the manner of my 
life, the habits and desires from the worldly plane 
to a spiritual condition of right and duty and con- 
science toward God and man, and recognizing and 
accepting in Christ the one power of God unto sal- 
vation, that in him are hidden all the treasures of 
wisdom and knowledge, and who is made unto us 
wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and re- 
demption. 

My Call into Service and Consecration. 

The awakening of my soul to the realization of 
the grace and love of God toward me, who was in- 
deed a "sinner", and the consciousness of a higher 
calling, led me to a closer study of the Word of God, 
and as the Holy Spirit graciously revealed to me to 



380 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

follow in the footsteps of "Abraham", the man of 
faith and obedience, I came out from a big business 
connection and made a full and complete consecra- 
tion, in accordance with the conditions of the New 
Testament. 

"Some of these conditions are quite critical; 
see Luke 14: 26, 27, verse 33 reads: "So likewise, 
whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that 
he hath, he cannot be my disciple". 

In view of the spiritual blindness upon the Jew- 
ish people, and that such blindness is removed only 
in Christ, and that "there is no other name given 
under heaven among men whereby we must be 
saved" — and that the Jews evidently do not under- 
stand the scheme of redemption, although they had 
the temple service and the law, and the sacrifices 
and ought to have understood that without the shed- 
ding of blood there is no remission of sin. How- 
ever, "without controversy great is the mystery of 
Christ", and as "Sterne" says: "Is it not an amaz- 
ing thing that men shall attempt to investigate the 
mystery of the redemption, when at the same time, 
that it is propounded to us an article of faith solely, 
we are told that 'the very angels have desired to 
pry into it in vain". 

The Consternation of my Relatives. 

Our readers can therefore imagine the surprise 
and consternation my conversion created among my 
Jewish relatives and friends — a "stone of stumb- 
ling and a rock of offense". Desiring to speak the 
"words of soberness and truth", my people evi- 
dently thought I had gone beside myself, because 
"much learning doth make thee mad". It would 
take a volume to relate all the incidents of the early- 
days of my Christian experience, the many compli- 
cations and stumbling blocks which menaced me on 
all sides. "Teach me thy way, Lord, and lead me 



Memoir and Personal Becollection. 381 

in a plain path, because of mine enemies. Deliver 
me not over nnto the will of mine enemies ; for false 
witnesses are risen np against me, and such as 
breathe out cruelty". Ps. 27: 11-12. 

The Powers of Darkness at Work. 

The hosts of darkness acted very definitely, 
and as I look the battlefield over, now that the 
smoke has cleared, and as by the grace of God I am 
more than conqueror through Him that loved me, I 
desire to give God all the glory. 

My Arrest. 

I lived at that time in a quiet and fashionable 
neighborhood in Pittsburgh, and quietly pursuing 
my studies, not making myself in any way conspic- 
uous it so happened that one Saturday night, at just 
about midnight, our household was aroused by the 
ringing of the bell and rapping on the door. The 
unexpected and untimely visitors were two police 
officers. The people of the house were informed 
that I was wanted, as instructions had been received 
from headquarters to place me under arrest. Upon 
what ground could not be ascertained, nor had the 
officers any warrant of arrest. I was informed of 
the situation, and readily agreed to go, though the 
manner of arrest appeared irregular and arbitrary, 
as the officers had neither warrant nor any specific 
charge against me, but I was told I must go, they 
were to take me. 

Imprisoned. 

Having dressed myself, I went with the officers 
to the Oakland Police Station and was placed in a 
cell, under lock and key — the exchange from a quiet 
and comfortable home, from the slumber on a com- 
fortable bed to a narrow bench, a hard board in the 



382 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

prisoner's cell. Dear reader, I am sure you are 
quite sympathetic, your feelings are touched; was 
not that a time for prayer? Was I really a pris- 
oner? It seemed unnatural, because I wanted to 
obey God, because I believed in Jesus ; wanted to be 
a Christian ; what could the matter be ! The officers 
in charge of the station-house had only the instruc- 
tion to have me arrested. I did much quiet praying 
and meditating on the experiences of the apostles 
and disciples while they were in prison. Many of 
the promises rushed to my mind, "I will never leave 
thee nor forsake thee", and "lo, I am with you al- 
way". These and other passages were most com- 
forting to me — of course my environment was new 
and rather strange ; there was a mixed company in 
the other cells, and the language of some of them 
was foul and vulgar to the extreme. 

Lingering in Prison. 

I waited patiently for the conquest of morning 
over the shadowy night. Never in my life did I so 
desire to see the rays of sunshine as on that memor- 
able Sabbath morning in August, 1895. I wanted a 
hearing, I desired to be free to go to church. I 
longed to go to the sanctuary ; my soul yearned and 
thirsted after righteousness, I looked forward to the 
Sabbath services, "My soul thirsteth for God, for 
the living God", my hungry soul craved the bread 
of heaven and the waters of life. The songs of Zion 
and the sermon, everything was soul food for me. 
Breakfast was furnished, the morning advanced, I 
obtained no hearing, and the attendant (turnkey) 
could give me no explanation. Eomans 5: 3 en- 
couraged me : ' ' We glory in tribulation also. Know- 
ing that tribulation worketh patience". A certain 
writer states: "That the qualities of patience are 
gentleness and serenity in bearing that which, with- 
out being agonizing, is wearing or vexatious, whether 



Memoie and Personal Recollection. 383 

internally or from the conduct of others". My ex- 
perience not only developed these qualities but also 
self-control. 

Visited by Expert Physicians. 

The morning hours passed without deliverance. 
During the hour of church time, I worshipped my 
God, indeed, in the meditation of my heart, feeling 
greatly uplifted by the devotion and meditation. 
The hours of the afternoon sped along, and toward 
evening, when the folds of night gathered around 
Mother Earth, the door of my cell was opened and I 
was introduced to two gentlemen, who interrogated 
me in reference to my conversion and religious ex- 
perience. I had come to the conclusion that my 
state of mind was in question, and conjectured that 
these gentlemen were, no doubt, "experts", and 
thus I was naturally prompted to be quite "nat- 
ural" and to answer in a simple manner. To speak, 
for instance, to "insanity experts" about the 
"change of heart", the "carnal mind", the "Holy 
Spirit", or " sanctification ", from a prison cell, 
would, indeed be sufficient evidence to question that 
persons sanity. Our interview was brief, of about 
five minutes ' duration, and I looked for a speedy 
release. But the hours of the evening grew late, and 
still a "prisoner in bond". After nine o'clock 
friends of the Oakland M. E. church visited me ; they 
felt much perplexed and full of sympathy for me. I 
learned that Mr. P. H. Laufman, the venerable class 
leader of the church, who was among the visitors, 
made strenuous efforts to effect my release, offering 
a large amount of bail. Realizing that I was good 
for another night, the dear reader may learn that 
physically I was not very strong, and though I 
seemed to have much fortitude, would feel a wave of 
deep sorrow. I would then think of Jesus and Greth- 
semane, and of his disciples as he spoke to them : 



384 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

"Sit ye here while I go and pray yonder". Matt 
26 : 36. I prayed much and meditated more, and I 
cannot tell all my thoughts of that night. The past 
rose before me, Saints and Martyrs others who suf- 
fered for Christ, all the faithful and heroic souls — 
of the past and present — and then to think to be 
counted worthy to become partaker in these light 
afflictions. Monday morning dawned bright and 
clear. Again no hearing. My brother, with some 
relatives, called ; he looked troubled — inquired after 
my health and thought religion had put me in a nice 
box — that the physicians considered me insane, and 
that I would probably be taken to a private institu- 
tion for treatment. It seemed to me that the hand 
of justice in Pittsburgh had moved back to the days 
of early Christianity, so high handed was the pro- 
ceeding. I said I was sane, but, bidding me good- 
by they departed, leaving me to my fate and Provi- 
dence. The day again grew late, and about even- 
ing, the two physicians again visited me and held 
another five minutes' conversation, after which the 
"experts" departed. 

To the Insane Asylum. 

I had about decided that I would have another 
night's sojourn in the prison, when I was called and 
introduced to two "strangers", who informed me 
that they would take me to a "sanitarium", as I 
needed rest. I told them I needed a change of quar- 
ters, as I felt all stiff from my confinemnt, and fur- 
ther said, asking: "Do you mean to take me away 
from here as an insane man?" They looked at each 
other significantly, one of the men answering in a 
patronizing tone that they were simply obeying 
orders. On the way to the depot, after quite a con- 
versation, one said to the other : i ' He appears to be 
all right". We boarded the train, and finally I asked 
them if they were taking me to Dixmont (insane de- 



Memoir and Personal Becollection. 385 

partment) of the Western Pennsylvania Hospital. 
At first they evaded the question, but finally they ac- 
knowledged that that was my destination. In due 
time we reached the point, and even by gas light, I 
could see that the surroundings of the institution 
are imposing and quite picturesque. Beautiful 
shade trees surround the palatial-looking buildings, 
and on entering same the impression is rather en- 
trancing; the wide corridois, large parlors, and the 
elegant apartments of the first floor are very attrac- 
tive and inviting. The preliminaries of the usual 
order of the business of the commitment having 
been adjusted, the two men bid me good-bye, and I 
was given in charge of a keeper, a young man whom 
I knew in a business way; he was surprised to see 
me. He led me to an upper ward, and, upon re- 
quest, I was permitted to have a bath ; then was I 
taken to a ward, which was to afford me the "com- 
forts of home". I found myself in a large room 
containing some 30 cots — in the company of men, in-, 
sane men, and as I directly learned upon asking my 
keeper why they would have me here, and not give 
me a quiet room, as I understood I was to be "well 
treated". The poor man felt real sorry for me, 1 
believe. He said that the rule of the institution is" 
that all new patients must spend some time in this 
ward, as this was the ' ' incurable ' ' ward. 

A Fiery Trial. 

The kind reader can imagine my amazement — 
that I was to be an inmate of an insane asylum — in 
the "incurable ward", among "incurable patients "- 
the "chronic insane", the "lunatic", the demented, 
afflicted with all kinds of vagaries, hallucinations 
and aberrations of the mind. Let the kind reader 
pause with me a moment. I was to be a "forced in- 
mate" (as stated, I asked for a single room) in the 
department of the "madhouse", in one room with 



386 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

all these unfortunate men. For a moment I was be- 
side myself ; oh, what a feeling overcame me ; I lis- 
tened to the filthy talk, the hellish ejaculations, the 
fiendish outbursts of glee or of hysterical convul- 
sions; the calamities of hell appear to be gathered 
under the roof of an insane asylum, and yet people 
say, there is no hell. And here I was to spend the 
night — how can I do that! I felt a revulsion of feel- 
ing — will I go mad? Can any human being endure 
such trials, this humiliation? What is to be done? 
How can I survive the night? The keeper showed 
me my cot and led me to it. I knew I was passing 
through a fiery trial, an experience that was beyond 
the power of language for me to describe. 1 needed 
help, strength — oh my Lord. Presently I was lost 
in prayer, and in a moment the saddest of all the 
sad scenes moved before my mind's eye, the " Cross 
of Calvary". I was in silent prayer — in deep medi- 
tation. The cross of Calvary — "Must Jesus bear 
the cross alone, and all the world go free?" "No. 
there's a cross for everyone, and there's a cross for 
me". 

And Jesus died that we might live. He died 
that through death He might destroy him that had 
the power of death, that is the devil. Heb. 2 : 14. 

And was not even the Son of God perfected 
through suffering: "But we see Jesus, who was 
made a little lower than the angels for the suffering 
of death, crowned with glory and honor ; that he by 
the grace of God should taste death for every man. 
For it became him, for whom are all things, in bring- 
ing many sons to glory to make the captain of theii 
salvation perfect through suffering". Heb. 2 : 9, 10. 

Upon that Cross of Jesus, 

Mine eyes at times can see 
The very dying form of One, 
Who suffered there for me. 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 387 

The Story of the Ceoss. 

The very picture of Calvary was before my 
mind's eye. I became insensible to my situation. I 
was entirely shut within myself. My own sad ex- 
perience of the previous days had faded away. The 
" Cross of Calvary" occupied my mind. Oh, how 
vivid, how real ! I was watching with the crowd, all 
were watching the cruelty — what a heart breaking 
sight? Who can measure the anguish, the great 
sorrow, the awful travail of the soul of Jesus of 
Nazareth at this hour? 

See his hands, which for several years healed 
the sick, raised the dead, cast out devils. How ter- 
rible now appear these gentle hands with the gaping 
wounds of the nail prints, the scarred and weary feet 
win no pity ; they too are cruelly pierced. They offer 
Him wine and myrrh to deaden His suffering. He 
will not drink, for He desires to bear all for us. Oh, 
merciful Saviour. Draw me to the foot of thy cross, 
that I may sit down there and watch Thee till Thine 
image is printed on my heart. Oh, that I may learn 
to die ! My day will come, the last day, the last 
hour, the last moment. That day comes, the last 
minute — and voices will whisper — it is finished — he 
is gone. The merchant prince will be gone, the 
nabob, the philanthropist and sage will be gone, the 
poet as well as the peasant, the great and the small 
will be gone, immortal souls going, going, gone-pass- 
ing into an eternity of glory and transcendent life, 
or into an eternity of sadness and suffering, which 
no earthly imagery can describe, the everlasting fire 
and "the worm that dieth not". Let me think of 
this and practice dying before I die ! "By thy cross 
and passion, by thy agony and bloody sweat, good 
Lord deliver us". 

The vividness, the spiritual fervor of my medi- 
tation brought to my soul a blessed quietness, but 



388 Memoik and Personal Recollection. 

not much sleep. The "inmates" of the ward would 
break out into all sorts of startled shrieks, accord- 
ing to the nature of their affliction, so I quietly 
watched and prayed for the dawn of morning. The 
scene is very sad indeed, human souls in such a 
state of aberration of mind and mental confusion, 
stupor and delusion. I breakfasted in one of the 
dining-rooms with a company of the inmates ; their 
appetite was, however, much better than mine, some 
of the men were gluttons, and their voracious eating 
would cause some of the animals at the Highland 
Park "zoo" to blush with envy. 

Life in the Asylum. 

We were taken out for "exercise" on a bridge 
which connects with the main corridors and which 
is an affair built of iron girders, and now I had the* 
opportunity of seeing some of the other patients, 
queer and peculiar subjects indeed. One German 
blasphemed like a trooper, and crowed like a 
rooster, and he looked as if he was the vehicle of a 
legion of demons. 

Then the physicians made their rounds and I 
met Dr. Hutchison, the genial superintendent of the' 
institution. 

Owing to my "connection" and being ac- 
quainted with the "business house" of my brother, 
the doctor inquired what I was sent out for. I gave 
him my assurance that I did not know exactly my- 
self; he promised to see me again. I requested ear- 
nestly to be given a change of quarters, but was 
again put among the "incurables" for another night 
of distressing experiences. I was told that new pa- 
tients must remain among the incurables, as this 
develops their true condition, and the phase of in- 
sanity is thus definitely diagnosed. I am quite sure 
that if ordinary people with a tendency to nervous- 
ness were to be subjected to a similar experience 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 389 

they would go stark mad ; there is no doubt about 
that. Fortunately the grace of God enabled me 
with fortitude to endure this horrible pit. There 
was no special "development" in my " condition' ' 
and so I was transferred the third day to one of the 
regular better-class wards, which contain single 
rooms, in which patients are locked at bedtime. 
Whilst the institution, no doubt, is as well managed 
as any of the kind — it being a Pittsburgh affair, and 
Pittsburgh is slow in nothing, as my own expe- 
rienced proved — it is intended for insane people, 
and I submitted to all the rules and regulations, 
some of which are, at least in practice, crude and 
unclean. 

By way of illustration. On Friday or Satur- 
day is "bath" day. The men of a ward all strip, 
two tubs of water are drawn, and the first one has 
the clean water. Those who follow (a certain num- 
ber must wash in the same water), and I noticed 
that most all were sane enough and wished for the 
first chance. It was the most disagreeable expe- 
rience outside of the first two nights. The "bill of 
fare" is wholesome, the men have tremendous appe- 
tites, but seem to get enough. I ate sparsely, but 
my neighbor was anxious to eat all I would leave. I 
spent my time in the study of the Bible and other 
religious books there, and gladly joined in the after- 
noon outing, which is given frequently to those who 
are not "dangerous". 

Dr. Hutchinson and the other physicians had 
daily conversations with me, and exercised their 
knowledge and intuition to diagnose my case. Dr. 
H. stated that I was legally committed, and evi- 
dently seemed greatly perplexed over my commit- 
ment. I learned later that the physicians consid- 
ered me "normal", and that I was not a fit subject 
for an insane asylum, and so informed my people, 
which brought my brother to visit me, just after one 



390 Memoir and Personal Becollection. 

week of confinement. My brother seemed glad that 
I was "improving' ' so fast, and then told me I could 
have my release if I would go West and not remain 
in Pittsburgh. I refused to accede to such terms, 
on the ground that my incarceration was unjustifi- 
able, and that all the newspapers reported me in- 
sane, and if he would make the proper retraction 
and place me in my true light before the community, 
I would feel fully vindicated and attend to my af- 
fairs. 

To this my brother would not agree, and so I 
was left to ponder over my situation, fully con- 
vinced that my action was right in refusing to en- 
tertain such a proposition. I was living in the 
Bible and was greatly helped by the experiences of 
God's people and His mighty hand to deliver His 
own. There was Noah and Abraham, Isaac and 
Jacob, Joseph, Gideon and Samson, Daniel and the 
den of lions, Paul and Silas, and Peter in prison, 
and all of the eleventh chapter of Hebrew's heroes, 
saints and martyrs. 

Faith Produces Hope. 

In spite of many temptations, my faith was 
strong and had the assurance that I would obtain 
deliverance through providential interposition. 

Faith is the substance of things hoped for ; the 
evidence of things not seen — and so I accepted my 
deliverance, as if it had already taken place, and 
was determined not to compromise in any way. It 
must be remembered that no one is so anxious for 
liberty as the man who is a prisoner, especially un- 
der my circumstances. 

Again my brother called on me; it was the sec- 
ond week of my confinement. He came at a time 
when we were all busy sweeping the floor and wash- 
ing the walls. I was at my post with broom and 



Memoik and Personal Recollection. 391 

cloth. He did not like my, employment and re- 
quested that I be withdrawn from the work, which 
was complied with, and I had no further outside 
work to do except my own room and some other 
duties. He called again the . third week with the 
same proposition, and was much perplexed to think 
that I would not avail myself of the opportunity to 
obtain. my liberty. I expressed my views to him, 
and told him point blank that I expected to get my 
freedom very shortly. I had my temptations and 
trials during these weeks. The tests came quite 
strong at times, but in the hour of the greatest 
temptation I was always strong enough to say 
"No",- because I did not think it was the Lord's way 
of doing things. "The Lord heard and delivered 
me from all my fear". Ps. 84: 4. 

"Fear not I am With Thee". 

It is of ordinary occurrence to see groups of 
visitors pass through the different departments of 
the asylum. One afternoon as I was reading the 
Bible, a gentleman came up to me, telling me he 
came down in my behalf. We entered into a con- 
versation about my conversion and incarceration. 
The gentleman introduced himself as Mr. J. B. 
Corey, saying he was going to see about my being 
taken out of this place. I was delighted of course, 
and stated that somehow I expected some one would 
come. I learned later that Mr. Corey, who is an old 
resident of Braddock, Pa., and of the Corey Gas & 
Coal Co., Schmidt Building, Pittsburgh, while in his 
office, was suddenly prompted or spoken to by thei 
Holy Spirit to go down to Dixmont to see Ruben. 
Mr. Corey has been in active Christian work for a 
long time, as I afterwards learned; promoted sev- 
eral Christian enterprises, and now the Lord gave 
him another bit of work. Mr. Corey was not per- 
sonally acquainted with me, never having seen or 



392 Memoir and Personal Eecollection. 

heard of me before reading the account of my being 
railroaded to Dixmont for accepting Christ as my 
Saviour. He called up Mr. P. H. Laufman, my 
class leader, and learning from him that my incar- 
ceration was a great wrong and injustice, he ar- 
ranged by telephone with Mr. Harper, president of 
Dixmont Hospital, to go with him to see me and 
learn of my condition for himself. Mr. Corey intro- 
duced me to Mr. Harper and to Ex-Mayor Kennedy, 
of Allegheny, who was also present. 

On his return to the city, Mr. Corey at once in- 
structed his son-in-law, Wm. Yost, Esq., attorney- 
at-law, to institute habeas corpus proceedings in my 
behalf. This was promptly executed. The case 
was returnable before Judge J. W. F. "White, of 
Common Pleas Court. 

My brother came to see me again, and later sent 
one of his ' l confidentials ' % who was formerly a 
bosom friend of mine, to accept his proposition to go 
West, as he told me that I would positively be re- 
turned to the asylum ; that they would surely prove 
my insanity, because I said that I received a spirit- 
ual call to read the New Testament, and that Jesus 
Christ was the Saviour of the world. As my peo- 
ple could not understand nor believe it, they thought 
I had gone beside myself. Now, these threatenings 
did not affect me in the least. I felt the assurance 
that I would obtain my liberty, because I knew I was 
right, and was standing on the promises of God, that 
if they would cast us into prison for His sake, He 
would deliver us. 

"Judgment Shall Return Unto Righteousness" 

On the morning of the trial, the fifth week of nry 
incarceration, quite a company had gathered at the 
court room — ministers, lawyers and doctors were 
present, my people and relatives and their attorney. 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 393 

The proceedings proved to be very interesting 
and quite sensational. Dr. Hutchinson was the first 
witness. He testified that I was legally committed, 
was received at the institution, conversed with me 
freely, found me very intelligent, rational, and of 
even temperament, and had so informed my family 
during the first week of my stay. Then the two 
1 ' expert' ' physicians testified, and essayed to prove 
my insanity, because I stated to people that I heard 
a supernatural voice telling me to read the New 
Testament, and that Jesus Christ was the Saviour. 
Judge White then questioned them searchingly as to 
how long they had been with me, did he act in a 
disorderly manner, and questions along this line. 

The Judge did not think, that because people 
claim to hear voices or see visions they must be sent 
to insane asylums. There are too many people who 
claim to have heard voices and it is preposterous to 
consider them insane. The judge was very definite 
in his remarks, and squarely rejected the evidence 
by which the defendants intended to prove my in- 
sanity. 

I was then called to give my testimony, told the 
story of my conversion ; had drifted from Judaism 
into infidelity, obtained the first literature from my 
brother who was a skeptic and did not believe in 
God. When Judge White heard that he looked 
straight at my brother, saying: "What! Your 
brother does not believe in God?" My brother 
rather felt the power of the Judge's remarks, but 
what will the feeling be, when in the great judgment 
day, the Judge of Judges will judge all men for the 
deeds done in the body, the quick and the dead ! 

' ' The Wisdom of Their Wise Men Shall Perish ' '. 

The attorney for my brother cross-examined 
me on some questions of my former belief. The 
judge now had enough, and in language which could 



394 Memoie and Peksonal Recollection. 

not be misunderstood, expressed himself in condem- 
nation of the outrage of my incarceration, and 
plainly stated that all who were connected with the 
outrage should be sent to prison, and I was dis- 
charged. 

Thus ended my strange experience. The vic- 
tory won was complete, the hand of God manifestly 
overruling the powers of darkness. "Say to them 
that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not, be- 
hold your God will come with vengeance, with the 
recompense of God, he will come and save you". 
Isa. 35 : 4. 

It is with a deep sense of gratitude that I ac- 
knowledge that it was the Lord's doing, in bringing 
about my deliverance, and to Him be all the glory. 

The Lord works through the instrumentality of 
the people, sending them forth on errands of mercy 
and love. The Lord used Anannias in the healing 
of the Apostle Paul of blindness by the laying on of 
his hands (Acts 9: 17), and in the bustling city of 
Pittsburgh, the Spirit of God calls Mr. J. B. Corey 
to set in motion the hands of justice. Jesus Christ, 
the same yesterday, today and forever, lo, I am 
with you always. That is all very wonderful, but 
God is wonderful, and the days of miracles are not 
yet past. 

How much better to pay heed to the Book of 
books, which contains the Word of God. 

I will confound the wisdom of the wise, and 
bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 
Where is the wise ? Where is the scribe 1 Where is 
the disputer of this world? Hath not God made 
foolish the wisdom of the world? 1 Cor. 1 : 19-21. 

Says Jesus: "I am come a light into the world, 
that whosoever believeth on me shall not abide in 
darkness ' \ St. John 12 : 46. 

(For the sequel to the above see Matt. 25: 
35-41). 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 395 



A HAPPY REUNION OF MAURICE RUBEN 
AND HIS FAMILY. 

"Jesus saith, have faith in God". Mark 11 : 22. 

"Verily, I say unto you, there is no man that 
hath left house, or parent, or brethren, or wife, or 
children, for the Kingdom of God's sake, who shall 
not receive manifold more in this present time and 
in the world to come, eternal life ' '. Luke 18 : 29, 30. 

Many dear friends have written to us to publish 
the Testimony, "The Victory of Faith' ' relating in 
brief review the thrilling incidents of my Christian 
life introducing especially the providences in our 
family, the long separation from my beloved wife 
and son, the estrangement, separation and finally 
the happy Reunion in answer to patient waiting on 
the Lord. 

Our friends who rejoice with me over the ! 
abundant mercy of God, may be pleased to hear of 
God's wonderful leading to victorious triumph. 
Bless His name forever. 

Victory After Many Defeats. 

Just six months from the time of our marriage 
Mrs. Ruben left me ostensibly to go with her mother 
on a visit to her native town in Nebraska. After 
she left my trials began. I was placed in an insane 
asylum by my relatives, as they could not under- 
stand my professing Christianity. Our readers are 
familiar with my experience in the madhouse, and if 
not they can obtain my booklet which relates the 
thrilling story. 

Mrs. R. was made to believe that I was de- 
mented, and under the influence of her relatives 
finally obtained a divorce. At the same time I was 
passing through very deep waters. The fact of my 



396 Memoir and Personal Becollection. 

incarceration left upon the minds even of Christian 
people, a lurking suspicion that I might be beside 
myself, and I can never tell of the solitary hours, 
days and months I spent during the first years of 
my Christian life; ignored and rejected, yet marve- 
lously sustained by the giace of God, and a friend 
here and there who came into my life as friends in- 
deed. I can give but faint touches of all the early 
days have taught me, what a school in self-denial, 
self-abasement and trials of faith and patience. 
But I bless my Lord now for every trial of the past; 
these light afflictions work out a "far more eternal 
weight of glory ". 

Opening of the Mission. 

The Lord finally opened the way, He gave me 
real Christian hearts. Brother Corey who had re- 
mained my steadfast friend, was joined by Brethren 
Garrison, Harris and others and the prospects grew 
brighter. Much prayer was being offered and thq 
Lord was asked to send in about $1,000 to equip a 
new building which was then in sight for the Mis- 
sion. 

A Crucial Test. 

For several weeks the money did not come in, 
others were after the new building, and we were 
loathe to lose it, yet the pledged or partly promised 
means did not materialize. Then Mrs. B., with our 
boy, then three years old, visited my relatives in 
Allegheny, arriving there just about the time when 
we were waiting for the means for the Mission. 

I had been corresponding with Mrs. B. and felt 
that she was still my wife ; she had all my love, the 
mother of our lovely boy, whom I had seen for the 
first time on the occasion of the visit to Allegheny. 

Calling at the house of our relatives, I showed 
all possible attention to my family, consistent with 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 397 

the circumstances. Matters opened up favorably. 
I desired to win her back, but the conditions were 
that I should return to a business career. Then I 
passed through a terrible conflict. My people did 
not think religious work would afford me the living 
for my family, and urged business as a safe source 
of support. 

I thought of Jesus, how He was offered the 
kingdoms of this world. I looked at my separated 
wife, the handsome son, I reviewed my experience. 
Truly God does lead in a strange and peculiar way. 
The testing time was at a high pressure ; can I hold 
out? What is the mind of God? What back to 
Egypt? And yet Canaan, i. e., the new Mission was 
not yet a reality, and so for the entire week I fought 
a battle between love and duty and duty and love, 
for God and family. 

The Final Decision. 

The last day had come. Mrs. R. was to termi- 
nate her visit. I could choose between the waiting 
to follow Jesus, or back to the weak and beggarly 
element of the world. Finally I said I would con- 
tinue in mission work, building or no building. I 
was doing a personal work amongst Jews and Gen- 
tiles, and the Lord was blessing me and making me 
a blessing. I remember the drooping disappoint- 
ment of Mrs. R. at that leave-taking from wife and 
child ; it was sad and did send anguish through the 
heart. Such a feeling, such an experience ! Oh, an 
eternity to look back to our earthly battles, trials, 
disappointments and victories ! Blessed be our God! 
—Matthew 10: 37; Luke 14: 26. 

After leaving the home of the relatives and 
crossing over to Pittsburgh, an inflow of indescrib- 
able sweetness suffused my very being. I was so 
blessed that I had to fairly praise God aloud on the 



398 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

open street and realized that I had decided aright, 
though the world would surely condemn me, as a 
cruel and heartless man. I was greatly comforted 
in my soul at the assurance of having pleased my 
Lord. Oh, that we may ever please Him under all 
circumstances, though it may cost a hand, a foot, or 
an eye.— Matt. 18 : 8, 9. 

The Hand of God Moves. 

Within three days of my decision means came 
into the hand of Brother Corey so that $700 were on 
hand the first part of that eventful week. The house 
was rented and the Mission became a reality. Praise 
Gor for what that Jewish Mission has stood for ever 
since ! 

Our friends have become acquainted with the 
nature of the work. I kept up a correspondence 
with Mrs. R., and as the Lord prospered me I 
shared with her for the support of our boy. A year 
later I visited Chicago, where Mrs. R. had moved 
and was keeping house for relatives. The Chicago 
Hebrew Mission then held a conference and I at- 
tended same and met Mrs. R. and son, and made 
some progress towards making an impression that 
God was with us in the Mission at Pittsburgh. In 
the course of the year we corresponded more fre- 
quently, and in the fall of the year I again visited 
Chicago. I then met Mrs. Wittenberg, mother of 
Mrs. R. The family had all come to Chicago from 
the west, and, to my surprise, I found the mother 
my very best friend, a firm believer in our ever 
blessed Messiah. After my conversion, when mother 
visited Pittsburgh, after being informed that I had 
become religiously insane, we had Bible talks. As 
mother was acquainted with the Old Testament 
prophecies, I confirmed her thoughts concerning the 
Messiah, directing her mind towards Christ, and 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 399 

when she departed I presented her with a New 
Testament. I was made to rejoice to learn from 
her own lips that she studied the blessed book and 
found Him of whom Moses and the prophets have 
spoken. 

Mrs. Ruben Attends Meetings. 

I was assisting Rev. Thos. M. Chalmers in a 
special week's Mission at Messiah Mission, Mrs. 
Wittenberg and Mrs. Ruben attending the services, 
and one morning Mrs. R. yielded, and we became 
reconciled and planned to become reunited on the 
date of the next anniversary of our first marriage, 
February 12. 

I returned to Pittsburgh a much happier man, 
and the good news leaked out, though it was Mrs. 
R. 's desire to keep matters quiet, as she knew that 
her people would oppose the reunion, if they knew 
our intentions. Pittsburgh papers found out all 
about the matter. The papers were sent to Chicago 
and the enemy came in like a flood. I realized that 
a new trial was upon me. My refuge was in the 
Lord. "In the day of my trouble I sought the 
Lord". "I communed with my own heart; and my 
spirit made diligent search". 

The family sent word from Chicago that they 
had discovered our plot. A letter was sent to me, 
also to Brother Corey, an entire stranger to the 
party. Brother Corey took the young man to task 
and gave him some good sound advice, and such a 
general dissection of his make-up that the young 
man had the opportunity to really become better ac- 
quainted with himself. I said not a word in reply, 
but asked the friends of Israel everywhere to keep 
on praying. My beloved brother, Thos. M. Chalmers, 
and Mother Wittenberg were also deeply interested. 
Six long years of separation had passed, the seventh 
year was now well nigh on the decline; hope took 



400 Memoie and Personal Eecollection. 

wings. Even Jacob had no longer to wait than 
seven years for his Eachel. We felt encouraged 
and were definitely led of the Lord to again visit 
Chicago. This time we were not expected, but word 
was sent to my trusted Brother C. We arrived and 
learned that some of the relatives who were espe- 
cially inimical were absent from the city. We called 
at the beautiful home of Mrs. E., who knew then of 
our arrival. We went in the name of the Lord, and 
urged the claims of salvation and her need of yield- 
ing herself completely to the blessed Master. We 
had several Bible studies and very precious seasons 
of prayer. The Holy Spirit led all the way. He 
took of the things of Christ and led captivity cap- 
tive. We then planned for a reunion. Would 
November 12 be the set time! was in our hearts. 

On Monday morning, Mrs. E. gave herself defi- 
nitely to the Lord. The hour was hallowed by His 
presence. if Truth shall spring out of the earth; 
righteousness and peace have kissed each other" 
Wilt thou revive us again ; that thy people may re- 
joice in Thee? The battle was the Lord's, His the 
victory. Bless His name forever ! 

In the wake of so much mercy I pressed on and 
told Mrs. E. I believed the Lord would be pleased to 
have us reunited quickly, lest the enemy may get 
some advantage again; also saying that I wished to 
take my little family to Pittsburgh. I knew it would 
come hard to break up the well-ordered home, to 
leave the refined neighborhood in exchange for what 
I could offer. But the home in Congress street is 
so blessed ; it has been a bethel to all of us, and we 
love its memories and the hallowed experiences of 
three years of infinite loving kindness from our 
heavenly Father. 

Mother Wittenberg now came in to rejoice with 
us. We were now one in heart and faith, all bitter- 
ness turned into sweetness. "Weeping may en- 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 401 

dure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning". 
This was truly the morning of indescrible joy. We 
thought that November 12 to be truly the set time 
for the solemnization of the reunion by the act of a 
Christian minister. 

The arrangements were quickly made. On 
Tuesday evening a small company of friends gath- 
ered in the parsonage of Brother Chalmers. Mother 
Wittenberg was the only one present on Mrs. 
Ruben's side. The blessing of the triune God was 
pronounced upon man and wife. The scene was, 
deeply impressive. Mrs. Ruben had a final issue 
with the adversary. We thought it might be physi- 
cal exertion caused by the excitement of the past 
few days. But we sensed quickly that it was not 
physical but spiritual — the final defeat of the enemy 
who now lost this daughter of Zion forever, as she 
answered all the questions and became the daughter 
of our blessed Messiah. The joy of salvation soon 
became manifest, and as the congratulations were 
given by the Friends, all could see the change upon 
the restored wife, as happiness and great peace 
came to her soul. 

The family had suspicions that something was 
transpiring and were informed by Mother Witten- 
berg that it did transpire. Some of the members 
became quite frantic, others came to congratulate. 

Packers came into the house to pack up the 
household goods for shipment to Pittsburgh. Even 
the landlord and his family rejoiced in the consum- 
mation of the reunion. Verily, our covenant-keep- 
ing God has answered our prayers. Husband, wife 
and son are truly happy in the Lord. To Him be 
all the glory forever. Amen ! 



402 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 



MY EXPERIENCE. 

An address delivered at the Conference of Jew- 
ish workers at Washington, D. C, February, 1902. 

By Mrs. Maurice Ruben. 

We read in Luke 24 : verses 48, 49. 

" And ye are witnesses of these things: And 
behold I send the promise of the Father upon you". 
How I praise God that I am able to stand before you 
also as a witness of these things. The Saviour 
called attention to the thrilling incidents of the clos- 
ing days of His blessed ministry. He opened their 
understanding to the Scriptures; they marveled as 
I have since, about these things, that the Saviour 
should have lived, and suffered, and died, and rose 
again ; all for our sakes, that we might be redeemed 
from the curse of the law having obtained eternal re- 
demption through the atoning death and resurrec- 
tion of our blessed Saviour. I praise the Lord, that 
I can testify of these things, which happened in my 
own life. How impossible it was for me to believe 
that Jesus should be our Saviour. I was raised in a 
small town in Nebraska among Christian and Gen- 
tile neighbors. I often went to church with friends, 
heard many sermons, but could not believe that the 
Saviour came to save me ; but bless the Lord, I be- 
lieve it now. But what an experience to look back 
too. You know something about it already. Well, I 
must tell you I was a Jewess, with the ideas of the 
Jews about Jesus. We Jews do not believe on him 
as our Saviour. God is our Saviour and there is 
none beside Him. That I learned in our Jewish 
home, and that I believed. I was married to Mr. R. 
February 12, 1895, and came to Pittsburgh. Shortly 
after that my husband came home, and told me he 
had found out that Jesus was the true Messiah. I 



Memoik and Peksonal Recollection. 403 

had confidence in my husband, but my heart rebelled 
against his talking that way. He was so earnest 
though, and I became greatly worried about him. I 
felt that my people would not like that at all. I 
spent days and nights weeping in great distress, my 
happiness seemed gone ; what would my mother and 
my people say? I wanted my mother, she came on, 
and to my surprise she and my husband got along 
well together talking about the Bible, and my 
mother told me she thought Mr. Ruben had found 
the truth, and was glad he did. She had been read- 
ing the Bible herself, and had often spoken to differ- 
ent Jewish people about the prophetic passages in 
the Old Testament, relating, she thought to Christ. 
But they were so blind and contrary that she could 
not get any satisfaction from them. Mama after- 
wards told me she was so glad Mr. R. had become a 
Christian ; and wanted him to study and do just 
what the Lord wanted him to do. So it was decided 
that I should go home on a visit with mother, as I 
was all nervous and unstrung on account of the ex- 
citement. My husband was to come soon also ; but 
a week after we left, his people put him in an insane 
asylum, and from the reports I got, I thought he 
must be wrong. I cannot tell you about all my trou- 
bles, then, I was so worried I thought I should lose 
my own reason. We were married only a few 
months and looked forward to motherhood, and now 
my husband supposed to be insane, and the people 
gossiping and telling all sorts of stories about our 
troubles. Mr. Ruben received comforting letters 
from me while he was in the asylum, and finally he 
wrote me he was set free by the court, and you who 
have read Mr. R. 's experience, know how wonderful 
it was for Brother Corey to go down, and by insti- 
tuting legal proceedings finally secured Mr. R.'s 
freedom. But my people, were so against Mr. R. 
and blamed him for all the trouble. It would take 



404 Memoir and Personal Recollection. 

too long to tell you all that happened. I did not 
think that I could ever live with my husband again. 
My baby was born, my husband was East, and I was 
"West ; and I really hated religion for my many trou- 
bles. About two years after, I entered proceedings 
for divorce, and though Mr. R. wrote me, he did not 
wish to be divorced, that he would soon be ready for 
public work, my Christian lawyer advised me to 
press the suit and get divorced. Then Mr. R. began 
to do mission work, and to preach, and wrote me 
nice letters, and gospel messages, and I felt he must 
be a good man. He frequently sent me money, and 
hoped I would yet become a Christian. So I had 
great unrest and heavy trials within me, for I really 
cared for my husband ; but I never told him how I 
felt. I visited Allegheny three years ago with my 
little boy. Mr. R. saw him then for the first time ; 
and he wanted me to be reunited to him at that 
time ; but I could not see how he could take care of 
me, and I did not then have the kind of faith he has 
to trust the Lord. So I went West again and located 
in Chicago, where most of my relatives lived. I be- 
gan housekeeping and some of my cousins boarded 
with me, and my brothers who had come, and we had 
a very cozy home. Mr. R. came to Chicago two 
years ago to attend a convention, and he wanted me 
to become a Christian, but I could not yield. Later 
my parents and family moved to Chicago, and my 
mother had become a Christian. Mr. R. gave her a 
New Testament when she was in Pittsburgh, and 
she studied, and read it, and believed in Christ, and 
would often talk to me of our blessed Saviour, as 
well as Mr. and Mrs. Chalmers, and other Christian 
friends. Mr. R. came to Chicago last year, and we 
attended meetings together at the Messiah Mission. 
We also had Bible readings, and I was willing to step 
out into the light ; but it was so hard to think of 
losing all my friends. My folks found out our 



Memoir and Personal Recollection. 405 

plans, or enough to spoil them, so I wrote Mr. R. 
that we could not be reunited when planned, and I 
became cold and indifferent, and lost the light. Last 
Fall in November, Mr. R. came again to Chicago; 
we had corresponded regularly, but I did not know 
that we would be reunited. He opened the Bible to 
me, and some how the Lord was present. He showed 
me these things so clearly, I could see and believe 
them. Jesus won my heart. I yielded myself to 
Him ; He gave me back my dear husband, truly God 
is love. Oh, that we may always obey Him, and 
avoid troubles and trials. And since my conver- 
sion, which brought peace and happiness to my soul, 
I sought and received the blessed Holy Spirit on 
Monday, January 20th, who beareth witness with 
my spirit that I am a child of God, cleansed from 
my sins and purified in heart, and made meet for the 
Master's use. How I praise God with grateful 
heart that he has made me a witness of these things. 



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